THREE young men who terrorised a Ferndown estate have been banished from areas of the town.

The move - the first set of Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) applied for by East Dorset District Council - signals a determination by the police and council to crack down on yobbish behaviour.

Keith Mallett, head of legal services at the council, said: "We're taking a strong stance.

"ASBOs are demonstrating to the community that the police and the council have got some teeth."

Daniel Howard, 17, and David Looker, 23, will be subject to their ASBOs for two years, while Christopher Story, 19, has been made subject of an interim ASBO until magistrates decide his longer-term fate next month.

PC Julian Humphries, beat officer for the Heatherlands estate - formally known as Tricketts Cross - said the trio were the "prime movers" in a group of youths causing antisocial behaviour there.

Magistrates heard how Howard, of Ringwood Road, had a history of disorder, including harassment, threatening police officers, causing criminal damage and being part of a gang who chased and then beat up a resident.

The justices stopped short of completely banning him from the estate, where his family lives. Representatives from the youth offending team and other youth specialists said his attitude and behaviour have improved dramatically in recent months and separation from his family would be detrimental.

All three of the youths are currently banned from acting antisocially, using intimidating or abusive words or behaviour, drinking alcohol in a public place other than a licensed premises and going to Ferndown Upper School.

Looker, of Medway Road, is barred from Penny's Walk shopping precinct and the St Leonard's Hospital site.

Story, of Ringwood Road, is banned from the whole of the Heatherlands Estate until the magistrates order otherwise, while Howard is also banned from the estate except for between 10am and 5pm on Sundays, Christmas and Boxing Day.

Howard is also unable to go to Penny's Walk except to go to the doctor's or the bus stop, from Cherry Grove, Peter Grant Way and the King George V playing fields.

Anyone who sees any of the young men breaching their orders should call Dorset police on 01202 552099.

First published: August 13