PUPILS have been banned from shopping in Darlington's Asda supermarket during their lunch break in an attempt to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

Children from Haughton Community School must not enter the supermarket between 12.20pm and 1.20pm on weekdays after complaints of their constant littering.

The ban was enforced by members of a newly created partnership between the police, Asda and the school, as part of Operation Red Dog.

Inspector Sue Collingwood, of Darlington police, said: "There used to be a trail of litter from the car park to the school after every lunch break and it became a huge eyesore.

"Many people travel through the area to get into Darlington and it gave a bad impression of the town."

The problem escalated out of control, with Asda staff spending a lot of time and money cleaning up after the mess.

A store spokesman said: "There had been some incidents of anti-social behaviour and littering recently.

"We are happy to work together with others to crack down on this problem."

Operation Red Dog, which was launched last week, aims to address the issue of anti-social behaviour in the community and educate youngsters about the impact littering has on the environment.

Andy Errington, head of Darlington's Community Safety Partnership, said residents had voiced their concerns about the pupils' behaviour.

He said youngsters needed to be more responsible for their actions and to learn about the damage that littering can do to the image of their school and the town.

The Northern Echo already backs Darlington Borough Council's campaign to clean up the town centre and estates, which was launched in 2002.

Haughton's headteacher, Mike Davison, said: "In recent months a small minority of youngsters have been causing problems in the local community, particularly in the Asda store."

The school has been working with Asda, police and parents to address the problems and pupils have attended specially designed tutorials and assemblies.

Mr Davison said pupils' response to the initiative had been excellent, with a marked reduction in anti-social behaviour during lunch breaks.