Shopkeepers have launched a scheme in which they act as guardian angels, offering protection to targets of street crime.

Traders signed up to the £2,600 safe shops initiative in St James's Street, Kemp Town, Brighton, will advertise their stores as possible safe havens for victims.

The first posters are being put up showing which shops are taking part.

The posters read: "This is a safe shop. We provide a secure haven for people who become subject to harassment or feel vulnerable to unwanted attention in the street."

The scheme, organised by the St James's Action Group, was prompted by long-standing concerns about drunks, drug addicts and aggressive beggars in the area.

Anyone feeling threatened or intimidated will be urged to duck into a participating shop for comfort or assistance.

The action group is helping subsidise traders signing up to the city's retail crime initiative, which provides radio link-ups to report problems.

Geoff and Carol Dawes, who own the What Not Shop in St James's Street, were among the first to join the project, which has been funded by the Scarman Trust. Already, the poster in their front window has had an effect.

Mr Dawes said: "We had a woman come in who had just had her car reversed into and the man who did it was refusing to admit it.

"The lady was most upset. She came into the shop and we sat her down and calmed her and called the police."

The scheme was formally launched last night at Hove Town Hall, at a meeting organised by the Scarman Trust.

Action group chairman Alan Bond hoped the posters would stay up for about six months to establish the scheme before being replaced by tax disc-sized badges identifying safe shops.

Six shops have signed up so far.