POLICE in Spennymoor have issued a stern warning to the parents of young tearaways who are wreaking havoc on a council estate.

Large gangs of youths have been condemned for starting a series of fires on the Middleston Moor estate - and police are considering drastic action.

They say that parents of the nuisance youngsters must take greater control of them or face possible eviction from their council properties.

Acting Sergeant Stoyan Barrett, of Spennymoor police, said groups of between 20 and 30 youths had been starting fires near a children's play area, using tyres and other debris. The blazes are said to have caused many residents, particularly elderly people, to fear for their safety.

Police are working with Sedgefield Borough Council's tenancy enforcement officials over the possibility of evicting families from the estate if their children are found to have been involved.

"There have been steps taken to identify the people responsible and we are working with tenancy enforcement officers," said Mr Barrett.

"There have been numerous calls to the police regarding anti-social behaviour from youths. What most concerns us is that a number of fires have been lit at the back of houses on Moorside."

Mr Barrett said the majority of perpetrators were known to come from the estate.

"We are going to look at it more closely now to identify offenders and people could be served with an eviction notice if they don't take control of their kids," he said.

"The point we want to get across is that the fire brigade could have been diverted away from something really serious and that is indirectly putting lives at risk."

Police received another call at the weekend from a concerned woman whose elderly parents live on the estate and had spoken of their fears.

The problem has escalated in the past month. Firefighters were called out to tackle a blaze in the area on Thursday.