IT is an area which has fought to shed its unsavoury past.

And it is an area previously renowned for social deprivation and crime but which has been transformed.

A big cash injection and years of hard work by the Deighton and Brackenhall Initiative (DBI) have revived the area. Until Tuesday night when yobs went on a rampage.

Work started at the beginning of the year on the scheme to improve the rundown village centre along Sheepridge Road.

The £500,000 project is the latest phase of the DBI master plan, first published in 2001, to regenerate the Brackenhall and Riddings estates and Deighton and Sheepridge areas.

But the project’s base at The Chestnut Centre on Chestnut Street was attacked during the unrest and the ATM cash machine used by the community was stolen.

Windows were also smashed and glass shattered.

Andi Briggs, chief officer for the DBI said: “We’re just absolutely gutted. It’s hugely disappointing and frustrating.

“The Chestnut Centre was six years old in May and it has become a real hub for the community.

“This attack by what appears to be a small minority of youths has undermined many years of good work that has been turning the community around.

“They were criminals and just targeted what they could get their hands on of any value.

“It would appear that it was a copycat attack to what has been happening nationally.”

Mr Briggs said the centre would be reviewing and increasing its security measures and opening times in the wake of the attacks.

It is currently open three nights a week until 8pm and until 6pm the rest of the week.

The building offers a number of services and advice and information for the community.

Work completed by the DBI has included new doors, windows and matching signs for shops