A THREE-month blitz on the "yob culture" which blights the lives of 6,000 residents in a former pit village was launched yesterday.

The crackdown in Brandon, which is the first of its kind in County Durham, is headed by a partnership embracing the police, fire service, the district and county councils, health, local housing association and other organisations which make up the local community safety partnership.

A key role has been handed to the Brandon and Meadowfield residents' group.

High visibility patrols by local beat bobbies, traffic patrols, special constables and police community safety officers will be stepped up during the pilot scheme.

It will be repeated in other areas if it proves successful.

One of the initiative's main aims will be to target the small unruly group of individuals responsible for much of the anti-social behaviour, disorder and low-level crime in Brandon.

Additionally, the partnership will tackle graffiti, abandoned vehicles, litter and other problems which hit the quality of life for the law abiding majority.

About 200 homes in the Vicarage Flats, Dunelm Court and Redwood areas will be targeted in the first weeks of the campaign before moving on to other local trouble spots.

Lesley Catterson, chairwoman of the residents' group, said they were delighted that Brandon had been chosen to lead the experiment in the wake of numerous complaints from residents, particularly about the disruptive behaviour of gangs of teenagers.

"We hope to secure funding to help develop facilities for our young people, but in the short-term we are looking to this operation to provide significant improvements.

"We have got to stick together and show the people responsible we will not put up with their behaviour,'' said Mrs Catterson.

Inspector Dick Dodds, who is leading the operation, insisted the problems in Brandon were no worse than in many other communities across the force area.

"The geography of the neighbourhood made it an easy choice for an operation of this kind. Put simply we want to make it a safer and better place to live - particularly for those vulnerable people in the community who often feel most threatened."