Durham Police are targeting disruptive youths in Seaham, near Sunderland, for the next six months.

Police forces in neighbouring Cleveland and Cumbria have already implemented similar curfews under tough new powers.

But civil rights group Liberty says it is mounting a legal challenge against curfews, which it claims are in breach of European human rights laws.

Under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act, police can remove under-16s to their homes if they are out on the streets between 2100 and 0600 BST.

Police are using new measures to tackle problems in the Deneside area of Seaham, where residents have complained of vandalism and anti-social behaviour.

Diversionary schemes

Measures under the act also give police the power to disperse groups of two or more if they are intimidating, alarming or causing distress to others.

Durham Police said the decision to bring in the order follows continued disruption caused by gangs of young people, sometimes up to 40-strong.

There has also been a persistent problem with under-age drinking.

There have been attempts to encourage teenagers to get involved in diversionary schemes including football, karate and horse riding, but there has been a minimal take-up.

A Durham Police spokesman said: "Not all the young people on the estate are bad kids, but there is a hard core of troublemakers who are making life a misery for law-abiding residents."

A curfew over the Easter holidays in Wigton, Cumbria was hailed by police as a big success.

But Liberty says it wants the High Court to rule on whether curfews breach human rights regulations.