A Sussex housing estate is hoping for a little divine intervention when churchgoers use the power of prayer in an attempt to crack crime.

A similar initiative called Crime Prayer-vention in Arnold, Nottingham, successfully got churchgoers to call upon God's help to beat crime.

The prayers appeared to be answered and led to a drop in car crime, a virtual halt to disorder on an estate and a £1,000 cheque unexpectedly arriving to help set up a drop-in centre for youths in the town.

The scheme was wholly endorsed by Nottinghamshire Police Inspector Alan Stuart, who is also a lay reader in the Anglican church and who has since spoken of its success to Brighton east division officer Inspector Paul Smith.

Mr Smith is willing to keep an open mind and give the initiative a go on the Whitehawk Estate in Brighton, which has been identified by the Government as an area in need of regeneration and help.

The estate is currently receiving £42 million of Government cash during a ten-year period to help it along its way.

He told the Whitehawk Crime Prevention Forum yesterday: "I must admit I had a few concerns about presenting this. I'm fairly open minded about it - anything is worth a go."

He told The Argus crime was already falling on the estate. Now worshippers in Woodingdean are on stand-by to ask God to turn his attention to crime hot-spots on the Whitehawk Estate.

Churchgoers will be called in for one hour each Saturday morning and given a list of what to pray for on the instruction of Sussex Police officers.

The crime-fighting prayer plan is the brainchild of Baptist minister Graham Horsnell, of the Downs Baptist Church in Woodingdean.

Mr Horsnell, 55, said: "God's honour is at stake here so he's not going to let us down."

When Insp Smith hands over crime statistics to the pastor he will look at the areas which need prayers and the Baptist, Methodist, Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in Woodingdean will join in the Saturday morning sessions.

The pastor added: "We will look at the areas which are of the greatest concern, they haven't got anything to lose by this, it's not costing anything."