A second estate in Brighton is to be protected by closed circuit television (CCTV).

Six cameras in North Moulsecoomb will be partly funded by £47 million of Government money for east Brighton under the New Deal for Communities scheme.

The residents-led scheme has received approval and is awaiting rubber-stamping from the Home Office.

The Whitehawk estate in Brighton was the first residential area to be covered nearly three years ago.

Despite fears they would become targets for vandals, there have been few serious incidents.

Residents will get a chance to see how effective CCTV is when a mobile camera tours Moulsecoomb this afternoon.

This will be followed by a public meeting at St George's Hall at the junction of Newick and Ringmer roads at 7.30pm.

Pete Weston, chairman of the Place Making Group for New Deal, said residents were behind the scheme.

He said 270 people out of 400 replied to a survey and 95 per cent said they were in favour of cameras.

They complained of vandalism, joyriding and arson attacks.

Mr Weston said he hoped the equipment would be installed by January.

The increased use of security cameras in Sussex has helped fight crime, according to latest figures from the Sussex Police Authority.

Three arrests are being made every day as a direct result of CCTV. A record 1,182 arrests were initiated by the cameras last year, a five per cent increase on the previous year.

The number of incidents monitored has grown by ten per cent to nearly 41,000.

The authority will discuss the new figures at its meeting in Lewes tonight.

There are now 288 cameras operating in the city of Brighton and Hove and in most towns across Sussex.