NORTH-East youngsters are celebrating after winning a national award for their crime-busting work.

Teenagers from Brandon, County Durham, won the overall award and the Home Secretary Award for Young People in the Norwich Union National Neighbourhood Watch Awards announced in Nottingham at the weekend.

The Brandon Youth Project, made up of 15 and 16-year-olds, was launched to help tackle youth crime and nuisance in the former mining town.

The youngsters raised £5,000 through stunts, including spending 24 hours in a police cell, to provide new facilities for youngsters.

They have also helped to establish a junior youth club which has grown to 120 members in the past year.

A drop-in centre for older youngsters and cheaper admission charges to a local sports centre have also resulted from their work.

Youth worker Lynne Readman said: "This award is such an excellent achievement and a real credit to the young people involved."

The group - Emma Lawson, Lynsey Hind, Jodie Nattrass, Scott Natrass, Lee Tobin, John Kidd and Dwayne Heslington - received the award at the National Neighbourhood Watch annual conference.

The group wins £1,000 to help fund its future work.

John Howell, director general of the National Neighbourhood Watch Association, said: "The high calibre of the entries reflects the truly outstanding work that some of our members, like those from the Brandon Youth Project, carry out."