All-night curfews for under-16s that could help combat crime in blighted areas are being planned.

Plans to extend existing curfews for under-tens will reportedly be contained in the Queen's Speech on Wednesday.

The curfews could help residents whose lives are made a misery by yobs, senior police said last night. It would be a "useful" move, according to Peter Gammon, of the Police Superintendents' Association.

No curfews for younger children in areas blighted by juvenile crime and disorder have been ordered since they were introduced two years ago.

Plans to extend them were dismissed by the National Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (Nacro), the National Association of Ex-offenders Unlock and the Tory party.

However, they were apparently endorsed by the Prime Minister's official spokesman.

Chief Supt Gammon said they would only be used where officers could show they would make a real difference to people's quality of life.

"This would be intelligence-led. You would have to present evidence to a court identifying areas likely to make most of an impact," he said. "Parents letting their children roam the streets at all times is an on-going problem."

Raising the age limit made it much more likely they would be used, Mr Gammon said.

Officials yesterday refused to confirm the powers would be contained in the Queen's Speech, but the Prime Minister's spokesman did not dismiss the report.

Asked if curfews would be extended, he said: "We believe it is a very good idea to give the police and communities the power they need to rebuild communities." The Queen's Speech would include "an attack on crime at every level."

Nacro warned there was a question mark over the whole idea of curfews. "The police already have the power to apply for curfews on children under ten-years-old, but not a single curfew has been issued," said research director Rob Allen.

"This is because there is a question mark over their workability and whether police forces have the manpower to enforce them."

Unlock also warned against the plans. "We have seen much of the Government's promise to be tough on crime, but what happened to the promise to be tough on the causes of crime," said chief executive Mark Leech.

David Lidington, Tory Home Affairs spokesman, said the country's police force was "at breaking point" and unable to enforce the proposals