CRIME committed by young people in Middlesbrough and Redcar fell by 13 per cent last year, according to a report by the South Tees Youth Offending Team.

Three out of four young people who appeared before the courts or who were referred to the service took part in restorative justice schemes.

This means that they make reparations to the victim or take part in work which puts something back in to the community.

"We are working closely with the street warden service and a group of young people have adopted an area of Middlesbrough and are cleaning it up," said Colin Wilson, who manages the service.

"This gets them making a practical contribution to the community as well as getting involved in positive activity."

The team works closely with police, social services, probation officers and health organisations to reduce the number of young people appearing before the courts and ensures they are dealt with quickly and appropriately.

Mr Wilson said: "Our work combines preventative measures, such as trying to divert young people away from activities which will bring them before the courts and into conflict with the community."

"We ensure that the justice system imposes effective sanctions on young people who come into contact with it."

There was also a drop in violent crime involving young people and almost half the offending was classed as "less serious".

Middlesbrough Council's executive member for social services Councillor Brenda Thompson said: "We all know that youth crime and the involvement of young people in anti-social behaviour is a major concern on Teesside.

"That makes it important that we look at remedies which are effective in the short term but which will also help break the patterns of behaviour which will lead young people into conflict with the community."