AN MP has thrown his weight behind a North-East town's new measures to tackle anti-social behaviour by imposing a night-time curfew on under 16s.

The curfew order came into force in the Deneside and Eastlea ward of Seaham, in County Durham, after a stream of complaints about vandalism and harassment.

The police used new powers under section 30 of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act 2003 to impose the 9pm to 6am curfew.

It gives them powers to disperse groups of youths and take young people under 16, who are breaking the curfew, home or to a place of safety.

Easington MP John Cummings said last night: "Until recently, anti-social behaviour crimes have been treated as a relatively low priority by the statutory agencies.

"In my view, tackling anti-social behaviour is an important quality of life issue in our area.

"It ruins lives, destroys families and makes life unbearable for the whole communities.

"I fully support the introduction of the curfew and have persistently called for tough action on anti-social behaviour."

Mr Cummings added: "As a society, our rights are based upon the sense of responsibility we have towards others, to our families and others in the community.

"This means respecting each other's property, respecting the streets and public places we share and our neighbour's right to live free from harassment and distress."

Mr Cummings said he would be monitoring the impact of this order alongside the anti-social behaviour task group and will be interested to see if there was a case of extending the orders to other parts of his constituency.