A MAN behind a four-month 'reign of terror' has been banned from entering part of a housing estate for two years.

Magistrates imposed an anti-social behaviour order on 20-year-old Derek Lee on Monday, following a string of incidents including burglary, shoplifting and assault in the Delves Lane area of Consett.

Durham Constabulary applied for the order saying Lee, who lives in Lea Side, Delves Lane, was making residents' lives a misery.

The terms of the order prohibit Lee from entering Briardale - the area's main street - damaging or interfering with property, drinking in public and trespassing on private grounds. If he breaches the order he could be sent to prison.

Magistrates sitting at Durham City, heard that in January this year Lee damaged the window of Lloyds Pharmacy in Station Road, in Consett, and on the same day carried out a violent assault on a local man.

Three weeks later he threatened to punch another resident outside his garden in Briardale and in March he stole razor blades and two dozen cans of lager from shops in Consett. In the same month he assaulted a youth at Consett bus station, broke the windows of a house in Briardale and punched another resident.

In April he thrust a pair of scissors at the chest of a local man and was drunk in public at the junction of Sydney Gardens and Delves Lane.

Speaking after the hearing, Delves Lane beat officer PC Jonathan Hammill said the order should bring about a noticeable improvement for residents.

"Derek Lee has in effect carried out a reign of terror which has left some people scared to leave their own homes, while others have been too frightened to contact the police.

"Under our StreetSafe initiative the force is committed to tackling anti-social behaviour and offering improved reassurance to local communities.

"The granting of the order sends out a positive message that we can and will take appropriate action against those who disrupt the lives of law-abiding residents."