A vicar said today his church has been targeted by vandals for the last 20 years.

In the latest attack, on Saturday night, yobs smashed windows and a surveillance camera at St Cuthman's, on Brighton's Whitehawk estate.

Last year the vicarage was firebombed and for decades youths have been shattering windows, ramming doors, covering the walls in graffiti and leaving broken bottles in the grounds.

The Reverend John Wright said: "It is something we have become used to. I have been here for 20 years and it has been a constant problem. I suppose there aren't many standards in society today.

"People don't value the church and the values that it teaches."

Neighbours of the vicarage said attacks were common.

Vandals, thought to be groups of young people, have also targeted homes, the community centre and a building site.

In 2003 a playground was torched and later, on New Year's Eve, a house in Whitehawk Road, opposite St Cuthman's, was burned down in a suspected arson attack.

Last week red paint was thrown at a new block of homes in Whitehawk Road.

Builder Paul Millard, 50, of St Cuthman's Close, said: "It is not only the church, it is everywhere around here. It goes on all the time - graffiti, smashing fences, swinging rubbish everywhere, lighting fires and setting fire to cars.

"It is youths aged about 12 to 18. The church is an easy target. A lot of it is boredom."

Church warden Reginald Horne said: "It is local people and it is always at night. There is a lack of strictness at school and parents couldn't care less."

Mr Wright's previous placements have been in Kent, Brixton and Lancashire. Even in Brixton he encountered less vandalism than in Whitehawk.

He said: "The church was attacked but the vicarage was never attacked. It was graffiti, not vandalism.

"We have had windows smashed at the church and the vicarage and the doors have been rammed."

The vicar, 62, who lives at the vicarage with his wife Brenda, said their two sons had found it hard growing up with all the vandalism. But he said things had been improving thanks to schemes such as eb4U, the east Brighton community project.

In 2001 the Valley Social Centre opened next to St Cuthman's.

Fred Allam, 61, a street cleaner from Whitehawk Road, said: "This area is 99.9 per cent good. You only need the odd person to give everybody else a bad name."

Gill Mitchell, Brighton and Hove City councillor for East Brighton, said: "This is really disappointing and it lets the whole community down.

"During the last few years we have seen some improvement. The council and the police are working together to tackle antisocial behaviour."

Sue Heard, spokeswoman for Brighton Police, said: "Smashing windows is criminal damage, which we take very seriously.

"A couple of names have been put forward and are being followed up."