Tuesday night caused a huge headache for the emergency services on Teesside, as youngsters ran riot. Graeme Hetherington reports

DRIVING around the streets of Middlesbrough and its surrounding areas under the cover of darkness revealed the lengths some youths would go to create "mischief" on a night residents have come to dread.

Leaving the safety of the car, it did not take long to spot groups of youths prowling the estates looking to create havoc as they went.

Teenagers in groups as big as 30 were armed with flour bombs, trays of eggs and fireworks.

Pallister Park, in Middlesbrough, was one of the worst-affected areas, with Eston and Grangetown also suffering at the hands of troublemakers. For more than three hours, the sky across Teesside was often lit by fireworks, but an all-too-common sight was the flashing lights of the emergency services.

Broken windows, vandalised cars, arson attacks and houses splattered with eggs and flour were to be found everywhere.

In Eston High Street, several officers were needed to bring a group of youths under control.

A detention van was parked in the square as a stark reminder to the youths.

The youngsters' reign of terror left many householders with a clean-up job yesterday morning, but some of the attacks had a more sinister element.

Police officers had fireworks thrown at them, buses were targeted by youths throwing bottles and eggs, and marauding gangs terrifying anyone in their path.

One mother-of-two's home was pelted with rocks and stones after a gang gathered outside her home in Overdale Road, Berwick Hills, She said: "This sort of thing is really terrifying.

The noise was incredible. They soon ran off, but what was to stop them coming back and smashing my windows."

Police were forced to deal with more than 900 incidents - more than double the usual number - while the fire service had to tackle 22 calls between 8pm and 10pm, almost 50 per cent higher than the same time the previous Tuesday.

It highlighted the concern that what once started out as innocent high jinx has become a much more serious problem.

Superintendent Stewart Swinson said: "I want to get away from this whole use of the word mischief night'. It does not matter what day of the year it is - you are a criminal and you will be dealt with as such. It is not mischief when it has the sort of impact on people that we are seeing year after year."

The number of police and community support officers walking the beat underlined the seriousness of the problem.

The reports mainly involved criminal damage being caused to cars, homes and street lighting, while the fire brigade had to contend with deliberately set rubbish fires.

A police spokeswoman said: "A minority of young people seem to use so-called mischief night as a licence to do as they please. They can even see it as some sort of free-for-all.

"The pressure of these calls draws police resources away from our fight against crime and reduces our ability to deal with emergencies."

In the build-up to Tuesday night, shop owners in Middlesbrough were encouraged to not sell eggs and flour to anyone suspected of buying it for anti-social purposes.