Council trouble-shooters say they are winning the war against nuisance gangs who commit anti-social behaviour against innocent Bradford citizens.

More than 60 Anti-Social Behaviour Orders have been granted by the courts in the Bradford district since they were introduced two years ago.

In addition, ten interim orders are in place and 24 full orders have been attached to convictions for other offences.

Although the number of ASBOs that have been breached is high - at between 60 and 70 per cent - the head of Bradford Council's anti-social behaviour team says they are working and the problem is getting better.

Chris Slaven, manager of the six-strong team of officers, said that 90 per cent of cases that came to them were dealt with before having to go to court to obtain orders.

Most anti-social behaviour is tackled with the use of informal warnings, voluntary Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, and formal warning letters.

Mr Slaven said: "We are winning this fight against anti-social behaviour. I have seen a marked difference in places where we have had an influence.

"We are not looking to penalise people who are just being a bit loud or enjoying life, but if that has a serious negative impact on people's quality of life, we will be there."

The team has dealt with nearly 1,100 cases in the time it has been operating, half of them by Acceptable Behaviour Contracts.

The average age of people committing anti-social behaviour is between 14 and 16. The youngest person to be given an ASBO was an 11 year-old boy, of Windhill, Shipley, who had been responsible for arson attacks, damage to property and threatening behaviour. The eldest was a 58 year-old man for the inappropriate use of land at Fagley.

Mr Slaven said: "The 11-year-old was a very disturbed young man. But the order has worked because he has gone very quiet."

He added: "ASBOs are not designed to be a punishment. They are a last port of call telling people what they are prohibited from doing.

"If that person chooses to take note of the prohibitions, we have had a success and the anti-social behaviour has disappeared. If they don't, they have broken the law and are arrested, charged and dealt with through the courts, which is also a success."

Acceptable Behaviour Contracts have also been a success, he said.

"Contracts are drawn up outlining what is wrong with their behaviour," said Mr Slaven. "We try to get them to understand the nature of the complaints about them and accept their responsibilities as future adults in this city. We monitor the contracts and go back after a few months to see how they are getting on."

Typical anti-social behaviour tends to involve gangs of youths causing intimidation, using threatening behaviour and damaging property, gardens and cars.

It happens in both densely populated areas like West Bowling, Girlington, Wrose, Undercliffe and Eccleshill, as well as villages such as Cottingley and Wilsden.

This week, anti-social behaviour officers were distributing leaflets in the Woodhall Road area of Thornbury, appealing for information from residents to help them investigate complaints about anti-social behaviour, drug dealing, damage and the indiscriminate use of motorcycles.

The Council team works closely with other agencies, including police, the Youth Offending Team and environmental protection officers.