A QUALITY of life officer is to be appointed to keep unruly youngsters and problem families in rural Ribble Valley in check.

The Ribble Valley Crime and Disorder Partnership has received £20,000 from the Government for the appointment of an officer to co-ordinate the activities of the police, youth and community service and borough council, in the battle against juvenile nuisance and neighbour disputes.

Partnership spokesman Bill Alker said: "We are working in a proactive way to prevent the problem youngsters of today becoming the criminals of tomorrow. This is perceived as an urban problem, but anti-social behaviour can happen anywhere.

"There are a number of housing and neighbour disturbance issues in Ribble Valley that need to be addressed in an attempt to prevent potential future problems."

There are two active Anti-Social Behaviour Orders in the Ribble Valley, one of which was issued against an 11-year-old Clitheroe boy last year.

At the time he was the youngest person in the country to receive an order, which banned him from certain areas of the town for two years.

The order was made by Blackburn magistrates following a string of complaints from residents about his unruly behaviour. Bill Taylor, team manager for the Ribble Valley Youth and Community Service, said: "We want to identify young people at risk and get respective agencies working together on their behalf."

Ribble Valley Crime and Disorder Partnership has identified anti-social behaviour and juvenile nuisance as one of its six main areas of concern.

Juvenile nuisance accounted for 44 per cent of reported public disorder crimes in the Ribble Valley in 2001 and the parents of nearly 150 youngsters in Clitheroe received letters warning against their children's behaviour.

Bill Alker added: "Anti-social behaviour covers a variety of issues, from dog-fouling and noisy neighbours, to vandalism and street disturbances, as well as the nuisance caused by young people gathering on street corners. Anti-social behaviour is anything that affects the quality of life of people."

Burnley Council has employed an anti-social behaviour officer for some time and Blackburn with Darwen Council recently appointed a policy officer for anti-social behaviour.

Advertisements for the new Ribble Valley post were published in the local press this week.