THREE 12-year-olds from Redcar have signed up to special anti-social behaviour agreements in an attempt to stop them causing mayhem on the streets.

The friends, members of a gang on the Lakes estate which involves children as young as eight, have picked on individual pensioners and asylum seekers, throwing stones and mud at them.

They are also believed to have pushed dog dirt through letterboxes, damaged property, screamed foul-mouthed abuse, harassed people and regularly caused problems until after midnight. The group has ignored all previous warnings.

If they offend again the three youths risk being taken to court where anti-social behaviour orders could be imposed with a risk their families might lose their homes.

"They've caused misery," said a spokesman for Redcar and Cleveland Council's community safety department. "It's not that most of what they've done is serious taken separately but it's the sheer volume of their crimes. It's the constant drip, drip of abuse. There's people on the estate who've told me they've been close to a nervous breakdown."

Dave McLuckie, lead Redcar and Cleveland councillor for community safety, said: "These youngsters have been terrorising a whole estate and we can not tolerate that."

The other seven members of the gang on Redcar's Lakes Estate have also received numerous warnings from police and community workers and will also be told to sign up to anti-social behaviour agreements if they continue to offend.

The contracts, already signed by 29 other children across East Middlesbrough and East Cleveland, were drawn up by multi-agency problem solving groups including schools, social services, housing providers, youth offending services and community safety wardens as well as police.

A total of 700 letters have been delivered to residents on the Lakes estate letting them know that action is being taken to tackle anti-social behaviour and asking for help.