A PROLIFIC offender suspected to be responsible for the majority of antisocial behaviour in Newton Aycliffe is now behind bars.

The teenager – who cannot be named for legal reasons – was arrested in the early hours of June 16 and charged with two assaults, assault causing actual bodily harm and multiple breaches of his Community Behaviour Order (CBO) previously imposed by magistrates.

The 17-year-old was remanded into custody and brought before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on Friday morning.

Read more: Woman killed after being hit by car in Boosbeck

He he was sentenced for previous offences including two public order offences causing harassment, alarm or distress, theft of a motorvehicle and breaching his CBO 14 times.

He was handed an eight-month custodial sentence to be served in a young offenders’ institute and will reappear at court this week to answer the latest charges.

Another boy, 16, was also arrested alongside the 17-year-old on Thursday for the same offences and pleaded not guilty.

He was remanded into custody ahead of a trial in August.

Neighbourhood Sergeant Andy Boyd praised the community for assisting officers with their investigation.

He said: “There is an escalation process we must follow when dealing with teenagers causing antisocial behaviour.

“We try to engage and educate young people to deter them from further offending, but when they don’t listen and change their behaviour, we will pursue them to court.

“We want the community to feel safe, whether that is at home or out and about around the town.

“This latest result has been achieved with the community working with us to provide good quality evidence to demonstrate to the courts that robust action is required.

“To residents, I want to say thank you for all your support, please feel reassured that we will relentlessly pursue anyone causing misery in the community.”

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated County Durham Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054