TEN youngsters accused of wreaking havoc in their community have appeared in court in a bid to force them to behave.

The group are said to be members of a group calling themselves the Bengali Boys, who police said were making peoples' lives a misery.

The move means a total of 13 youngsters have now been served with interim Anti-social Behaviour Orders by magistrates in a bid to protect the community in Stoneyholme and Daneshouse.

Four were imposed ten days ago and police asked for the same orders on a further ten on Friday. Nine were granted by magistrates and a further case adjourned of another 17-year-old.

The alleged behaviour of the gang has included attacking cars, fighting in the street, shouting abuse and trespassing in schools and community centres.

The move is believed to be the largest use of ASBOs against a single group in Lancashire -- if not the country.

Ward councillor for Daneshouse and Stoneyholme, Rafique Malik, said: "This should send a message to members of the community that the authorities will take action and not sweep these things under the carpet.

"I am aware of many complaints about this gang, some very serious and it's bringing a bad name to this part of town.

"I do not believe anti-social behaviour is something we should be afraid of tackling."

The interim ASBOs will last three months and have been designed to take quick and effective action against the troublemakers while a full order can be applied for.

Under the terms of the orders the group are forbidden from entering parts of Stoneyholme, from contacting other members of the group, from causing alarm and distress, from causing criminal damage, from assault and being in the possession of anything made as a weapon and from interfering with road signs.

If the order is breached in any way police have powers of arrest and a five year prison sentence can result.

The measures were taken after a joint meeting of police top brass and community leaders in the mainly Asian areas of Daneshouse and Stoneyholme two weeks ago, which followed months of problems.

Police had already launched Operation Freelander, a series of high profile patrols, in response to calls from the community to tackle problems in the area, which included a recent attack on a teenage car driver.

The nine served with orders on Friday were: Azizal Hoque, 18, of Burns Street; Ghulan Hussain, 18, of Burns Street; Foyez Uddin, 18, and Kashim Uddin, 18, of Gordon Street; Saghir Hussain, 21, of Gordon Street, and Saheed Mohammed, 20, of Gordon Street. Three others under 18 cannot be named for legal reasons.

The four others were Alhaj Mahmud, 20, of Throstle Close; Salim Baksh, 19, of Colne Road; Tarzn Uddin, 23, of Brougham Street and Masum Tahir, 19, of Cromwell Road.