We say it's time to stop knocking Eltham as a racist hellhole. We say the community deserves better. We say let's learn from the Stephen Lawrence tragedy. We say let's look forward to a brighter future in Eltham by highlighting the many positives it has to offer.

TEN years have passed since the dreadful day the life of Stephen Lawrence was so cruelly taken by racist murderers.

It's hard to believe it's a whole decade ago we mourned the loss of such a promising young life. The community of Eltham was shocked to the core as the full horror of events became known.

National newspapers ran a vitriolic campaign which branded large sections of the population of Eltham as heartless racists who cared nothing for their neighbours and sought only to destroy the community spirit.

Then, as now, News Shopper is proud to decry such crass insensitivity and will, if necessary, once again stand as the lone voice backing all that is right and good in Eltham.

We are not afraid to stand up and be counted as members of this proud community.

No-one will ever forget the sad death of Stephen and we, along with thousands of others, will mark his passing. But this is certainly not just a time for mourning. It is a time to look forward, to realise how far Eltham has come in 10 years and also set our sights firmly on the future.

We will not give up calling for justice for Stephen and want his murderers behind bars, but neither will we be swayed from our support for Eltham.

This week marks the start of our month long campaign for justice and for the future of Eltham.