CAMPAIGNERS are calling for an end to "postcode punishment" after a report revealed major differences in how children are dealt with in court.

Young criminals are 28 times more likely to be sent to jail in one part of the country than in another, figures published by the Youth Justice Board show.

And the "significant variations" are mirrored in the North-East where as few as three per cent receive custodial sentences in one place and almost as many as one in five do in another.

In the North-East, Darlington has the highest proportion of under-18s who are locked up when they appear in court - 18.4 per cent - with South Tees at 16.3 per cent and Hartlepool, with 14 per cent, next in line.

After Northumberland, which has a custody rate of 3.1 per cent, the next lowest in the region are South Tyneside with five per cent and Gateshead at 5.9 per cent.

The national average for the period October 2002 to March 2003 is 10.4 per cent - down from 11 per cent for the previous six months.

Sir Charles Pollard, acting chairman of the Youth Justice Board, said last night: "The Board remains concerned about the wide variations in local sentencing practice. We hope that local areas will use this information to examine their practice and the availability of programmes to support community alternatives to custody."

While the report shows justice by geography is still apparent, Sir Charles said he was encouraged by the levelling out of the anomalies and the decrease in the use of custody generally.

All of the areas in the region, except for East Riding, have an Intensive Supervision and Surveillance Programme, which is described as "a robust community penalty for persistent young offenders".

Nationally, none of the 109 young offenders dealt with in West Berkshire or Dorset during the six-month period were given custodial sentences, while 24 of the 85 to come before the courts in Luton were locked up.