IN some senses the world has never been a smaller place and that has been shown by the celebrations in St George’s Square to mark the end of the brutal Col Gaddafi regime.

The violence in Libya has seemed so far away as we have watched it unfold on our TV screens, but hundreds of Libyans living in West Yorkshire celebrating in Huddersfield has brought it so much closer to home.

The Libyan people will now be hoping for a brighter, more democratic future.

Libya has ended its nightmare of the past but with it the country’s stability.

The push for democracy is what most right-thinking people would want, but it will no doubt be a long and rocky road ahead before that wish is fulfilled.

It may be the Libyan people will continue to need outside help for years to come to stop the country from sliding into anarchy and yet more bloodshed.