A batch of shiny silver "pods" could be introduced to areas across Bradford in a bid to drive down instances of juvenile anti-social behaviour.

The portable steel rooms act as mobile youth centres which, it is hoped, will channel the energy of bored teenagers away from streets.

The district's first pod, which stands for Portable On Demand, has already landed in Queensbury and it is hoped that if it is a success more of them could pop up all over the city.

Another has already been planned for Bolton. Youngsters will be able to drop-in during the evenings and youth workers will also trawl the streets trying to get them involved.

In the pods young people can talk about the kinds of projects they would like to see in the area and will be given advice on raising funds to put them into action.

Councillor Michael Walls (Con, Queensbury) and Councillor Alan Hillary (Lib Dem, Bolton), both of the Youth Reference Group, have imported the idea from Manchester, where the number of complaints of annoyance made to police fell by 60 per cent after the pods were introduced. Coun Walls said: "The idea came from a police officer who noticed that many of the calls they received complaining about annoyance related not to bad teenagers but teenagers without direction, whose attitudes were on the fringes of criminality.

"From the positive response of the kids there, we felt this could provide a solution in the outer areas of Bradford where youth facilities are poor or non-existent."

The pods will be open for three evenings a week and will be manned by an outreach worker.

They will be heated, have tea and coffee-making facilities and provide somewhere to sit, chat and "hang out". Funding of £150,000 has been secured for the scheme from Bradford Council's Youth Service's budget. It will run on an initial six-month trial period.

Paul Johnson, Youth Service Area Manager, said: "We are delighted to be piloting this idea in Bradford and hope it will prove a great success."

Community Safety Sergeant Keith Boots, of Bradford North police, said: "Anything that can steer young people away from crime and create something more positive has to be of great benefit to our local communities."