A COUNCIL has pledged to wage high-profile publicity campaigns against anti-social youths after a court ruling.

Darlington Borough Council has already delivered leaflets to hundreds of homes on the Skerne Park estate about Shane Preston, the 14-year-old boy made the subject of Britain's toughest anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) in August.

Now, the authority says it will carry out identical campaigns for every youth placed under an Asbo in the town.

The decision comes after Brent Council, in London, won a test case brought by human rights group Liberty in the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday.

Liberty claimed the council and Metropolitan Police acted unlawfully by publicising details of three youths who had been placed under Asbos.

However, Lord Justice Kennedy dismissed the action, ruling that leaflets with the names, addresses and photographs of the youths were legal.

Darlington Borough Council leader Councillor John Williams, said: "Anti-social behaviour orders are only issued to persistent offenders, people who have been caught causing trouble time after time.

"It is only right for the people who live in the communities they have been terrorising to know who these offenders are.

"From now on, every time an anti-social behaviour order is handed out, we will be dropping leaflets to every home in that community naming and shaming the culprit and letting people know the conditions of the order."

He said the leaflets would encourage people to contact the police about breaches of Asbo conditions.

Eight anti-social behaviour orders have already been issued in Darlington.

Shaun Findlay, operations manager at Darlington Community Safety Partnership, said: "We are leafleting homes because it is important for people living in communities that have been affected by anti-social behaviour to know what action is being taken to stop these acts that have disrupted their neighbourhood."

Liberty spokesman Barry Hugill said: "It is very sad that Darlington is going to do this but I think other authorities will jump on the bandwagon.

"The consequence of printing and distributing these leaflets is that it could encourage vigilantism.

"We have cases where people have been named and shamed and their families have been targeted. It punishes innocent people."