AN initiative has been set up to tackle teenage tearaways responsible for hundreds of crimes in County Durham.

In March, Durham Youth Offending Service was allocated £900,000 under a Government initiative to tackle youth crime.

The service has developed a supervision programme to curb the activities of 40 to 50 persistent criminals, nicknamed the Shifty Fifty.

The youngsters, aged between ten and 17, have been singled out by specialists from the Youth Offending Service, working with police.

They will face a range of restrictions to break their cycle of offending and will have to tackle supervised activities for five hours each working day.

At night they will be subject to curfews backed by electronic tagging and security checks.

All the offenders have been convicted or charged more than four times in the past 12 months with offences which warrant custodial sentences.

Service head Christina Blythe said: "Many of these youngsters have multiple problems and we will concentrate our efforts on keeping them usefully occupied with education and training activities, with the ultimate aim of re-integrating them into their communities."

Detective Chief Superintendent Ian Scott, head of Durham Constabulary's CID, said: "This is no soft option. For many of the youngsters, the majority of them boys in their mid to late teens, it is very much a last chance."

The programme, which will run for three weeks, will be run by officers from the Youth Offending Service and each offender will have a mentor to guide them.

County Durham is among the first areas in Britain to operate the scheme, backed by the county council, County Durham and Darlington Health Authority and County Durham Probation Service.

Mr Scott said: "All the agencies involved believe this programme has the potential to make a substantial contribution in reducing repeat offending."