A MOBILE youth club is to work closely with young people in Stanley town centre to tackle anti-social behaviour.

Derwentside District Council's modern youth bus, Ellie, is equipped with a range of equipment including TV, video and DVD player, DJ decks and computer games to capture young people's interest and imagination.

It is run by the authority's award-winning Spice project and will be in Stanley town centre every Monday to Thursday night, from 6pm to 8pm all of this month.

Alongside the fun games, Spice staff are running an anti-social behaviour awareness programme aimed at engaging young people.

Ellie driver and youth worker Nigel Hogg said: "Spice works so well because we have worked hard to build a strong relationship with our young people in the district.

"We want to build on that, working together to find out where there are problems and what can be done to help."

Problems identified by the police in recent months include youth nuisance in and around the bus station, where classical music is now piped to drive young people away.

Inspector Ian Proud, of Stanley Police, said: "This sort of thing has a very negative effect on people's quality of life.

"We want to restore people's confidence and help them feel safe in their own communities."

This latest campaign follows a pledge to cut all offending in Derwentside by 15 per cent over the next three years.

Future plans include a young people's art project for Stanley's new bus station, to help enhance a sense of community spirit.

Since Ellie took to the road last October, more than 4,000 young people have come on board to take part in the wide choice of activities available, from computer crazy golf to wrestling.