A water company has given £2,000 towards a shopping district's Christmas lights.

Southern Water's cash will help pay for decorations in North Laine, Brighton.

The company has been laying pipes there over the last few months and is offering the money as a goodwill gesture.

It is another boost to a campaign that has gone from dead-in-the-water to sparkling success. It was thought there was no way North Laine traders could afford a Christmas lights display, estimated to cost about £30,000 for a three-year contract, even though Brighton and Hove City Council had pledged to match any money raised.

Community arts company Same Sky saved the day by offering a cheaper one-year display of simple white lights using the motif of the North Laine compass. North Laine Traders' Association chairman Peter Stocker now thinks he will only have to ask businesses to donate £50 each to raise enough to pay for the lights.

He said: "We're really grateful to Southern Water for their generous donation."

Next year it is hoped money collected from traders through a Business Improvement District scheme will pay for lights.

Friday, October 28, 2005