GANGS of youths are terrorising residents and going on a rampage of destruction on a housing estate.

The youths, some as young as seven, are smashing windows and ripping out the fixtures and fittings from derelict houses to build fires.

The chaos has been sparked by the start of a demolition scheme on the Woodhouse Close Estate in Bishop Auckland.

The project, which is being overseen by Wear Valley District Council, started on Saturday and residents claim they have been plagued by gangs of youths ever since.

One young mother-of-two from Lusby Crescent, who did not wish to be named, said that she and her neighbour had been staying up all night because they feared for the safety of their homes.

She said: "They start the moment they get home from school. They are throwing bricks and bottles at each other and sometimes it is coming into my garden. I cannot even let my children play out because I am so worried.''

The residents are holding an emergency meeting and are threatening to withhold their rent if immediate action is not taken by the council to solve the problem.

Michael Kelleher, head of neighbourhood operations at Wear Valley District Council, said the high level of disruption had taken the council, police and fire brigade by surprise.

He said: "We are now taking advice from demolition experts to see what can be done. Nobody could have foreseen the level of disturbance that has occurred.''

One solution to the problem will be to secure all the houses and take one house down a day rather than flatten all the houses included in the demolition scheme.

Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue have confirmed that it has visited the estate an average of three times a night to deal with the nuisance fires. It is also believed that site security has been withdrawn because of safety fears.

A spokesman for the fire service said firefighters would be visiting schools in the area to point out the dangers of playing in derelict houses and starting fires.

He said: "These kids are not just risking their own lives. These are nuisance fires and we could be somewhere else saving lives.''

Insp George Osbourne of Bishop Auckland Police said: "We are talking to the council to see what we can do to make life better for the residents."