A crack team of police officers has been set up in Darlington to tackle a hard core of 50 trouble-making youths who are terrorising the town.

The officers will target notorious places where teen-agers hang around. They will operate in uniform and plain clothes and will identify ringleaders, collect evidence, arrest and prosecute.

Youngsters who hang around in large groups increase the fear of crime. In 2004 there were almost 5,000 reported incidents of young people causing trouble in Darlington.

And yesterday Inspector Chris Reeves, who will supervise the new StreetSafe unit, said he believed the initiative will have a big impact on communities besieged by anti-social behaviour.

The unit is comprised of four constables and a sergeant and will focus on one hotspot in the town, before moving on to another.

The team started operating last week in the West Auckland Road and Bates Avenue area of Cockerton, and have already made seven arrests.

This area is a particular problem because groups of between 30 and 40 youngsters congregate there between 5pm and 11pm on Fridays. The group often binge drink and the area has seen a number of street fights and one mugging in recent weeks.

Insp Reeves said: "There are an estimated 8,500 young people in the Darlington area and the vast majority are well-behaved.

"About 300 of them cause nuisance of one sort or another because of thoughtless acts and it is our intention to try and educate them."

Within the known trouble-makers there are about 50 who orchestrate the problems. Insp Reeves said the unit would single trouble-makers out.

Police have identified 70 disorder hotspots in Darlington.

These include: The tennis courts at Denes; South Park; Skerne Park; Lascelles area; Mayfair and Longfield Roads; Bank Top and Springfield Park, the surgery in Nunnery Lane and Middleton St George.

Insp Reeves said: "We have really put our money where our mouth is and invested in these staff, we believe it will work and make people feel safer."