MORE than £100,000 is to be spent in an attempt to keep teenagers in the region on the straight and narrow.

Middlesbrough, Washington, Peterlee, Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool, are among 80 areas across England and Wales being targeted as part of a Government initiative to combat youth crime.

In some areas, including Teesside and Washington, support workers will focus on 50 of the worst tearaways to show them positive alternatives to offending.

A basketball fun afternoon will launch a Youth Inclusion Project for Whinney Banks, Newport and Ayresome, Middlesbrough, today.

Managed by the community partnership group, Safe in Teesside, the scheme will work with vulnerable young people who are at risk of offending.

John Bentley, director of Safe in Teesside, said: "It is an opportunity to put resources where the greatest need is. By carefully targeting those young people most at risk we can, hopefully, make the greatest impact.''

Coordinator Paul Surtees, of Middlesbrough Borough Council, said: "We aim to help the young people of Whinney Banks increase their confidence and self-esteem, enhance their educational and employment opportunities, and help them play a part in regenerating their area.''

Christine Davidson, youth liaison officer with Cleveland Police, working with Safe in Teesside, said the project would look at healthy life-styles, drug use and family issues if relevant. She revealed an initiative was planned for Redcar.

Money is being put into a similar schemes being launched at Usworth, New Washington, Tyne and Wear. A variation, the On Track project, aims to prevent youth crime at Peterlee, County Durham, with family support home visits, parent training, and monitoring children from primary to secondary school.

Both Hartlepool and Bishop Auckland are running sports, art and activities programmes during the six-week school holiday.

More than 80 youngsters turned up for a disco to launch the Hartlepool initiative, which will offer indoor activities and outings.

Thames Valley Chief Constable Charles Pollard, a member of the Government's Youth Justice Board, said repeat offenders created "cultures of fear and helplessness'' in some areas, with other youngsters encouraged, through peer pressure, to get involved