NEIGHBOURS from hell in five North-East communities will be given a last chance to end the misery they cause or face eviction.

A crackdown already operating in Sunderland has been extended to tackle the worst families in Middlesbrough, Easington, Gateshead, South Tyneside and Newcastle.

All five towns and cities will be given £25,000 by the Home Office to tackle the problems they suffer.

The scheme aims to target children running wild.

Anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) will be extended, behaviour contracts will be drawn up and, in some cases, mothers and fathers will be ordered to take parenting classes.

In the worst cases, parents may have to attend residential courses.

Nuisance neighbours who fail to improve their behaviour despite the offer of help will be evicted.

Home Office Minister Hazel Blears said the threat of eviction succeeded in "concentrating the mind wonderfully".

She released a review of 100 families in the ten trial areas across the country, including Sunderland, which found that 40 per cent of people believed the programme had improved behaviour.

She said: "Having nuisance neighbours may sound trivial to some, but the reality can be pure hell for the individuals and communities affected.

"In the worst cases, the anti-social behaviour of one or two families can hold whole streets to ransom, causing residents to live in fear of vandalism, abuse or harassment, day in, day out."

She said moves to rehabilitate problem families would include treatment for drugs and alcohol and to encourage children to go to school.

She denied the Government was penalising poor people by targeting families that rent their homes.

She said: "We have also got anti-social behaviour orders, which are irrespective of your tenure."

The Minister announced the expansion of the programme across the country to 50 areas with high rates of anti-social behaviour, at a cost of £1.25m.

Of the 100 cases reviewed by the Home Office, a quarter of families had previously been evicted.

In 38 per cent of the families studied, children were not attending school regularly, if at all.