FOR months, Claire Richards and her friend, Joanne Mafham, ran wild among the traders and shoppers of Darlington.

Their confidence grew as their behaviour remained unchecked. Anti-social acts such as shouting abuse at security guards and shopkeepers escalated to robbing a 16-year-old girl of her mobile phone and punching a man who came to her aid.

For such a campaign of violence, vandalism and intimidation, the ASBOs handed down by magistrates last October may have seemed a soft option.

But, as the friends recently discovered after they both broke the orders, ASBOs can turn nasty.

Richards was locked up for two months after breaching the order by stealing two bottles of spirits, and smashing a security guard's glasses as he tried to restrain her.

Mafham was landed with a fine of £45 and costs of £55 earlier this month after she was spotted with Richards being abusive at 3am outside the Mardi Gras nightclub, in Darlington.

Sergeant Paul Robinson, Darlington's community safety officer, spent months gathering evidence to apply for the order.

He said: "Although Joanne and Claire have breached their ASBOs, their level of behaviour has moderated considerably."

ASBOs were introduced in April 1999 as part of the Crime and Disorder Act, and have not always been greeted with optimism. A Home Office report last year revealed they were being implemented haphazardly across the country.

They were lengthy, taking an average of 66 days to get an order granted; ineffective; and expensive, at about £5,300 an order.

There were also widespread variations in the way areas used them. Between April 1999 and December 2001, there had been just one order in North Wales, compared with 67 taken out in the West Midlands. In the North-East, 66 ASBOs have been given out.

Since the report, the Government has announced measures to speed up the process, including allowing the police or local authorities to apply for interim ASBOs.

But one authority has found that using the threat of an ASBO has been enough to deter anti-social behaviour.

Mike Batty, head of community protection at Stockton Borough Council, said they had not needed to apply for orders since they set up their anti-social behaviour unit in June last year.

He said: "The feedback is that it has managed to nip some of them in the bud.

"When we send out our warning letters, we say that if objectionable behaviour exists, one of the possible consequences is going to court for an anti-social behaviour order."

In Darlington, traders and security guards who were plagued by Richards and Mafham believe they work.

Louise Payne, Darlington's town centre manager, said: "The good thing about ASBOs is that there are strict conditions attached to them about where they can and cannot go, and who they can and cannot associate with.

"I know they (Richards and Mafham) have breached them a couple of times, but they have been dealt with and there has not been a problem since."

As part of the conditions imposed on the pair, Bill Lippett and his team of ten security officers at the Cornmill Shopping Centre, in Darlington, now have the power to eject the pair from the centre.

Mr Lippett said: "There are one or two others who have seen them dragged back to court for breaching their orders and it has made them think again."