AN order to police and local councils to stop slacking on tackling yobs and louts plunged the Home Secretary into a furious row last night.

Alan Johnson told town halls and police forces to step up the fight against anti-social behaviour, by recording – by next March – every reported problem and telling all victims what action is being taken.

He also demanded a “clear expectation” that everyone breaching an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) be taken back to court, amid fears some areas are failing to act.

The Northern Echo: Asbos breached: June 2000 to December 2007

And he pledged all victims taking a stand in a magistrates’ court would be helped by an expert “champion”, who would accompany them, offer advice and be available when the case was over.

Almost £2.8m will be spent during two years on 85 “champions”

in priority areas, including Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, Gateshead, Newcastle, South Tyneside and Sunderland.

Residents must be provided with a “right of complaint”

to Crime Disorder Reduction Partnerships – made up of councils, police and social landlords – if effective action is not taken.

But Mr Johnson ran into trouble when he condemned a “mindset”

among some police officers who ignored families besieged by yobs, epitomised by the tragic case of Fiona Pilkington, who killed herself and her disabled daughter.

The comment triggered a furious reaction from the Police Federation, which accused the Government of imposing “initiative after initiative”, without the resources to meet them.

Detailed figures released yesterday reveal that the Asbo “breach” rates are higher in the North-East and North Yorkshire than in the country as a whole.

An average of 54 per cent are flouted across England and Wales – a lower figure than in Northumbria (56 per cent), North Yorkshire (57 per cent), Cleveland (63 per cent) and Durham (73 per cent). However, the Home Office said a high breach rate was encouraging, because it meant – in Durham’s case – that 73 per cent of those handed Asbos were taken back to court to face further punishment if they failed to comply.

Yesterday’s crackdown followed three years of sharply declining use of Asbos, after Prime Minister Gordon Brown appeared to side with fears that they had backfired and were regarded as a “badge of honour”.

Across the North-East and North Yorkshire, a total of 302 were issued in 2005, but only 147 in 2007. Since then, the Home Office has not even collected figures.