SHOP staff, who are being terrorised by yobs, are being escorted home by police.

Staff say gangs of about 30 youngsters, aged between ten and 16, are throwing petrol bombs and setting fire to shops at the Allandale Shopping Centre, on the Overfields Estate, in Ormesby, Middlesbrough.

They say the youths use wood from boarded up shops to start bonfires, hurl verbal abuse at passers-by and set fire to cars.

Drain covers have been pulled up, bricks knocked out of shop walls, wheelie bins set on fire and paint thrown over cars and shop windows.

A shopkeeper, who did not wish to be named, said: "There are fires here nearly every night. When the fire brigade are called, the kids lie in wait for the firefighters and hurl abuse and sometimes throw bricks at them.

"Shop assistants are also in the firing line and are being escorted home at night from the centre by police."

Martin Scott, manager of The Centurion pub in the centre, said: "The kids are getting worse and worse.

"There used to be a cake shop, butcher's, fish shop, and fruit shop here but they've all closed down because of vandalism. It used to be a nice shopping centre, but now everything's gone.

"We want somewhere for the kids to go, like a youth group, which will keep them off the streets."

A spokesperson for Cleveland Fire Brigade confirmed that its Arson Task Force was looking at the situation on the estate.

A police spokesperson said: "This area has been and still remains an area where police are currently putting on extra patrols.

"Operation Relentless, which covers Ormesby and Eston, has been running for two months and as a result more than 200 anti-social behaviour forms have been issued and 90 litres of alcohol seized."

Anti-social behaviour forms act as a contract with parents and youths pledging to keep out of trouble - if they are breached, an anti-social behaviour order can be sought to make it a crime for a young person to misbehave.