A SUMMER crackdown against anti-social troublemakers will see some inner-city areas of the North-East become no-go zones for teenage yobs.

Newcastle is one of several English cities planning to introduce dispersal zones in a zero-tolerance drive to curb drug-taking, underage drinking and alcohol-influenced violence.

Curfews will be introduced in many areas, enabling police to clear groups of youths from the streets after 9pm.

Some police forces involved are said to be rushing to apply for special licences banning troublemakers from pinpointed areas.

The threat of a £2,500 fine, or a prison sentence, will hang over anyone breaching the orders.

More than 100 dispersal zones could be created, mostly in London, but others are expected to be introduced in Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, as well as on Tyneside.

It follows the Government's election pledge to drive out lawlessness and to protect neighbourhoods from drunken intimidation and yobbery.

Curfew zones, as seen in a successful a six-month drive in the Deneside area of Seaham, County Durham, last year, will be designated by chief constables with the agreement of local authorities.

Dispersal notices within the designated zones can be imposed for up to 24-hours.

The move follows Northumbria Police Chief Constable Mike Craik's recently launched force-wide summer crusade against drunkenness, The Party's Over.

A force spokesman said yesterday that it was a partnership drive to curb drunkenness.