Children in “chaotic” families need intervention when they are aged as young as five to prevent anti-social behaviour becoming entrenched and drug abuse seen as normal.

This was one of the findings of a programme that tried to stop at-risk young people and their families falling into a life of addiction, crime and sexual exploitation.

The local branch of Barnados ran the six-month Keighley Choices programme, which intervened in the lives of 25 children aged ten to 19 and their families in the town.

It was part of a Home Office scheme to nip destructive behaviour in the bud and Keighley was one of 11 areas targeted for its high levels of drug abuse, gang activity and sexual exploitation.

Among the children targeted were ones from family backgrounds that included depression, domestic violence and parental drug abuse.

Boys and girls involved in the project admitted to being friends with older people, which contributed to their substance abuse and put them at risk of exploitation.

One was a girl who had witnessed her older sister being sexually exploited, and another whose mother smoked cannabis every day.

The Home Office has released a report into the successes of the programme from October 2011 to March 2012, calling it a “very promising pilot project” with the majority of children who took part leaving with higher self-esteem and less likely to take part in “risky behaviour”.

It involved other local groups and charities, introduced young people to activities like repairing bikes or dance classes, and encouraged families to spend more time together.

However, nine out of the ten groups involved said children needed help at a much younger age.

One stakeholder in the project said: “They’ve been getting in trouble since they were about eight and by the time they get to 12 and support is available it’s too late because the behaviour is entrenched.”

It added that future projects would have more success if there was an added focus on sexual exploitation.

A spokesman for Barnados said: “At the end of the scheme, the young people were better equipped to avoid risky situations having developed a better awareness of how to keep safe and avoid substance misuse. They also had an understanding of how to make real life changes in order to secure a more positive future.”

The findings of the project have since influenced how the charity approaches problems throughout the Bradford district.