Brighton is known throughout Britain as a tolerant town with one of the largest gay communities in the country.

That reputation has taken a nasty knock with news of the unprovoked attack on Ricardo Saroyan-James.

He was beaten up without warning by two strangers who attacked him simply because they realised he was gay.

Our pictures today show the extent of the horrific head injuries Mr Saroyan-James suffered in the attack.

He was kicked unconscious and the beating only stopped as passers-by arrived and called an ambulance.

Everything possible must be done by police to catch the cowardly thugs who picked on someone far smaller than themselves, just because he was different.

But this vicious assault reinforces the need for education to start as early as possible so that future generations of young men do not grow up to hate homosexuals.

Gay men and lesbians, like anyone else, should be able to walk the streets of Brighton without fear of being attacked. Attitudes have improved enormously over the last half century but this awful attack shows there is still a long way to go.

On a footplate.

Two train companies are arguing over whether they are poaching staff from each other by offering inducements to switch jobs.

Thameslink and Connex, who are both bidding for the South Central franchise, are short of drivers following a boom in rail travel.

Their scrap is the sort of thing that happens when you have commercial rivals. It could never have happened in the days of nationalised British Rail.

It's hard to judge from outside who's on the right lines during this squabble. But there is one clear winner.

Both companies are falling over themselves to recruit the drivers who are enjoying better pay and conditions as a result.

Egg-ixting.

A new attempt to reduce the nuisance caused by pigeons in Brighton and Hove is being tried out in the towns.

Pigeon hotels or dovecots will be set up, encouraging the birds to roost in them, rather than on roofs. The eggs will be replaced by china replicas which they will try in vain to hatch.

This eggcellent idea should reduce their numbers and everyone but the pigeons should see the yolk.