Council leaders in large parts of the region are spurning controversial orders designed to crack down on local louts, new figures show.

Six local authorities in the North-East and a further four in North Yorkshire failed to obtain a single anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) in the 12 months to March.

The reluctance to use ASBOs is in sharp contrast to the rest of the country, where the number of orders doubled in 2003/4 to more than 2,400.

Tony Blair, returning from his five-week summer break, hailed the much improved take-up as proof that communities had been given "the powers they need", describing the new measures as "immensley positive".

However, no ASBOs were issued in Chester-le-Street, Darlington, Sedgefield, Teesdale or Wear Valley in the last financial year. Teesdale has never imposed one.

Similarly, in North Yorkshire, the powers have never been used in Harrogate, Richmondshire, Rydale or Scarborough, according to the Home Office statistics.

Only Middlesborough, (13 in 2003/04, 16 in total), Derwentside (seven in 2003/04, 11 in total), and York (five in 2003/4, 12 in total) have reached double figures.

Manchester - albeit a much larger authority - imposed 108 ASBOs last year, with Leeds (99), Salford (53), Birmingham (34) and Liverpool (34) also using the powers extensively.

ASBOs, introduced by Labour in April 1999, can be applied for by either local authorities or the police, although not by members of the public.

They are designed to prevent offenders returning to an area or street, repeating particular behaviour or associating with other named people. Because they are a civil order, they require a lower standard of proof than in a criminal trial. The maximum punishment for breaking an ASBO is five years in jail.

However, they have been condemned by some groups for victimising some of the most vulnerable people, who are driven out of their home, often on flimsy evidence.

Unveiling the latest figures, Mr Blair said: "Anti-social behaviour can ruin neighbourhoods and make life a misery for decent, hard-working families.

"There remains much to do, but police and councils are using those powers - up 117% last year - the public are coming together and the louts are on notice."

But David Davis, Tory home affairs spokesman, said a record number of ASBOs was no substitute for more police on the street to enforce them.

He said: "Anti-social behaviour is out of control under Labour. Large amounts of crime goes unreported, and many people now accept yob culture as a fact of life."

Last month, the Home Office announced that experienced "tutors" would be made available to local authorities which had failed to apply for ASBOs.