POLICE are to take ten more youngsters who have allegedly wreaked havoc in their communityto court on Friday 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 people's lives a misery.
Earlier this week four youngsters were served with interim anti-social behaviour orders by magistrates in a bid to protect the community in the Stoneyholme and Daneshouse areas of Burnley.
Police will now ask magistrates for the same orders on a further ten.
The alleged behaviour of the gang has included attacking cars, fighting in the street, shouting abuse and tresspassing in schools and community centres.
The orders, believed to be the largest use of ASBOs against a single group in Lancashire, if not the country, were imposed on Monday by Burnley magistrates.
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.
"Community representatives and the youth services need to work to tackle the social problems which cause some young people to behave like this. The biggest problems are overcrowding and a lack of facilities."
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.
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 last week 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 ten who will appear in court on Friday are: Azizal Hoque, 17, of Burns Street; Abdul Mahid, 18, and Bodrum Alum, 18, both of Gordon Street; Ghulan Hussain, 18, of Burns Street; Toyib Miah, 17, of Brougham Street; Foyez Uddin, 18, and Kashim Uddin, of Gordon Street; Saghir Hussain, 21, of Gordon Street; Saheed Mohammed, 20, of Gordon Street and Amjad Khan, 17, of Arley Gardens.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article