POLICE will this morning begin to follow up incidents of youth disorder and drunkenness reported among school leavers last night.

Emergency services in County Durham were called out to deal with groups of teenagers who had met in various locations to celebrate the end of their exams and a minority of them caused trouble. Three were also reported missing by parents but were subsequently found.

Parents urged to collect teens after trouble in Peterlee

The Northern Echo:

One incident included a large gathering on the school fields at St Bede's Catholic School, in Peterlee, which ended up with police officers issuing a Facebook appeal to parents to go and collect their children at around 9pm.

Acting Inspector Darren Stephenson, force incident manager at Durham police, said: "Countywide there were some minor crimes reported and three people in their mid-teens reported missing, having gone out with friends after leaving school.

"They all turned up, safe and well.

"It would appear that the scale of this is typical of previous years and any incidents of antisocial behaviour and alcohol seizures will be followed up by the beat teams."

The Northern Echo:

A spokesperson for Peterlee police sent a message to youths on Facebook, stating: "For all who attended the year 11 leavers do, thanks to the majority who enjoyed their night without incident.

"However, you were let down by the small minority that created issues and set out to spoil an otherwise good-spirited evening. One male was taken to hospital and a female arrested, with enquiries ongoing."

They issued pictures of the scene at the school fields, urging people to take responsibility and tidy up their town.