Police chiefs are drawing up a hit list to help target a town's worst young criminals.

The move to crack down on young offenders in Worthing follows reports that almost 50 teenagers are behind 50 per cent of crimes in the area.

From smashing war gravestones to stealing car radios, the town has suffered a steady flow of minor offences, which cost thousands of pounds to deal with every year.

During the next two weeks, police chiefs will be compiling a list of persistent young offenders and an action plan to stop them.

Worthing district commander Chief Inspector Russ Whitfield said the offenders were below the age of 18 with six or more criminal convictions in 12 months.

CI Whitfield, at a Press briefing at Worthing police station in Union Place, said: "In a population of 100,000 people, we have 49 committing 50 per cent of the crimes.

"On the positive side, it shows how many law-abiding citizens we've got.

"The 49 are committing priority offences, like criminal damage, shoplifting and car crime."

The strategy to identify and deter the young criminals has not been finalised but CI Whitfield speculated it would have a "multi-agency" approach.

He said: "We will target them by liaising with other agencies like Shop Watch, Pub Watch and Club Watch.

"The scheme will involve effective investigations, making sure we do everything we can to stop them from re-offending."