Time and again, it seems, we carry stories about children and young people behaving badly. Only yesterday, in this column, we were commenting on the child gangs who have been making life very difficult for people in parts of Great Horton with their lawless and violent behaviour.

What a very refreshing change, then, to be able to present the other side of the coin with a story about a group of youngsters who were so fed up of crime in their road that they have set up their own junior version of Neighbourhood Watch to tackle it.

The children have shown a remarkable community spirit and a lot of initiative, posting leaflets through doors, pinning up posters, liaising with the police and even holding a jumble sale to raise money for the equipment they need.

Young people like these need to be given every encouragement. They are a wonderful antidote to the mistaken belief, which grows out of the bad behaviour of a minority of their generation, that all children are trouble.

The reality is that many are not. They are decent and law-abiding and can be as distressed about levels of crime as adults are. Unfortunately they are usually not the ones who make the headlines - which is why we are only too happy to devote a page today to the efforts of the "Low Moor Four".

Hopefully their example will inspire other groups of youngsters to get together and see what they can do to make life safer and better for themselves and their families in the streets where they live.