Teenagers 'named and shamed'

Two members of a teenage gang have been publicly named and banned from the areas they terrorised.

On one occasion £9,000 had to be spent building a fence around a local bowling green after its surface was torn up by the group.

Police and civic leaders joined forces to apply for anti-social behaviour orders against Andrew Boyle and Shaun O'Kane, both 16, after their behaviour left villagers afraid to leave their homes.

Magistrates in County Durham were told the two were part of a gang which waged a lengthy campaign of destruction and intimidation in South Moor, near Stanley.

The shopkeepers and villagers in South Moor were at the end of their tether

Ch Insp Dave Hogg

Under the two-year anti-social order, Boyle, from Rydal Avenue, South Moor, County Durham, was banned from approaching the village library, community centre and some shops.

And O'Kane, from Fawcett Hill Terrace, Craghead, County Durham, was banned from South Moor.

Chief Inspector Dave Hogg, from Durham Police, said: "These two caused misery.

"The shopkeepers and villagers in South Moor were at the end of their tether.

"They had a real impact on people's lives and now we must make sure the orders are adhered to.

"If not they face a five-year prison sentence.

"These orders have proved highly effective in other parts of County Durham and we will have no hesitation in seeking more orders when resolving these sorts of issues."