POLICE and council officers have announced they will abandon "softly-softly" tactics when dealing with trouble-making youngsters.

The Acceptable Behaviour Campaign, which starts on Monday, is being spearheaded by Cleveland Police and Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, with support from other agencies.

It aims to stop trouble makers before they become a real nuisance to their communities.

Youngsters who are a cause for concern will be confronted in an effort to ensure parents take more responsibility for their actions. Throughout the Langbaurgh district, which covers Redcar and Cleveland, more than 11,000 incidents of anti-social behaviour were recorded between February and November 2000.

That was almost one quarter of the calls handled by police.

The operation will start with a letter being sent to the family home with a warning about the child's behaviour.

If trouble recurs within six months, a second letter will be delivered by a police officer, outlining the possible repercussions. If misbehaving continues, a conference between agencies will take place to decide on a further course of action.

These could include possible eviction, school expulsion, anti-social behaviour orders, and parenting orders.

Chief Superintendent John Kelly, district commander at Langbaurgh, said: "Young people who persist with irresponsible behaviour need to be dealt with firmly. The softly softly approach is not working.

"By working with other agencies, we hope to greatly increase our effectiveness in dealing with hooligans."

Councillor Dave McLuckie, lead member for community safety at Redcar and Cleveland council, said: "I think it is important because it alerts parents to their children's behaviour."

The system would also show up persistent offenders, he said.

A judge deciding whether to impose an anti-social behaviour order would be able to see all possible steps had been taken to moderate an individual's behaviour.

The scheme will be piloted in South Bank, but could spread to all areas of the borough.