ALCOHOL could soon be banned from the streets of a village blighted by anti-social behaviour.

Durham Constabulary has applied to Derwentside District Council for an order to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in public in Dipton, near Stanley.

If the bid is approved, it will make Dipton's streets the first designated drink-free zone in the district.

John Pearson, the council's director of development and asset management, said: "Alcohol consumption is seen as a significant problem in Dipton. The police have provided evidence of anti-social drinking and related disorder in the area."

Councillor Reg Ord, independent county and district ward councillor for Dipton, said: "We are going the right way now and that is brilliant."

But he warned that any order would need to be backed up with youth facilities, such as the village's Communal Rooms, which are under threat of closure. He also said it would need extra policing.

Coun Ord said that the problem of yob culture was also getting worse in the neighbouring village of Burnopfield, which recently lost a community youth worker.

Police pledged to put more resources into the village, if the order is granted.

Under the Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001, local authorities can issue a prohibition order in areas with a history of anti-social drinking and disorder.

But council officials are concerned the test case could lead to demands for more costly booze bans from other Derwentside communities.

Derwentside Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership has already agreed to pay £1,500 - about half the estimated cost of implementing the order in Dipton.

It has also pledged to support any future prohibition orders that both the police and the council feel are necessary.

The council's ruling executive body will discuss the Dipton issue, and future prohibition orders, at a meeting in Consett Civic Centre next Monday.