A MOTHER has praised a new partnership that managed to get her nuisance son out of trouble and back on track.

The mother said her 11-year-old boy's future was saved by the joint effort of the Safer Hartlepool Partnership's Anti-Social Behaviour Unit (ASBU) and the Families Accessing Support Team (Fast).

They got involved following complaints about the behaviour of the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, after a neighbour told the ASBU he had been seen pulling down fencing, and causing a nuisance around the area.

Anti-social behaviour officer Vanessa Waller said: "When we received the complaints, we contacted the boy's mum, who was more than willing to get involved in helping her child. It was also important to focus on the problems while the boy was still young enough to be receptive to support."

The boy, from Hartlepool, agreed to sign an Acceptable Behaviour Contract (ABC), promising not to get into trouble and to be at home by 9pm each day.

The ASBU then got in touch with the Fast project, which was able to deliver a range of services to help the boy and his mother, including emotional and practical support.

The mother said: "The work with Fast helped me to think about the problems and emotions my son had been experiencing.

"This has given me the opportunity to see him in a different light and helped me develop different ways of dealing with his behaviour.

"The work has made a lot of difference, in terms of my son being much calmer and getting into a lot less trouble."

Anyone affected by anti-social behaviour can contact the ASBU on (01429) 296588. The Fast project can be contacted on (01429) 271571.