Police could ban five youths from a shopping centre after they terrorised shoppers over a five-month period.

The youths would be the first in Sussex to have Anti-Social Behaviour Orders imposed on them. The five, aged 13 to 16, have been leading a gang of 20 youngsters who target shopkeepers, shoppers and residents on Bewbush Parade, Crawley.

Sgt Chris Ball, of Crawley police, is expected to apply to Crawley Magistrates Court next month to have the orders imposed on the boys. If that happens and the boys ignore the conditions, they could face five years in prison.

Only 20 orders have been granted throughout the country since they became part of the Crime and Disorder Act in 1998. Sgt Ball said police had tried everything in their power, from one-to-one counselling to criminal charges, to stop the youths misbehaving.

They had talked to their parents and shown them CCTV footage of their sons misbehaving in Dorsten Square. Some were supportive of the police and others admitted they could not control their children.

Sgt Ball said: "The youths and their parents have been officially warned that we are considering these orders and that we expect the parents to take responsibility for the children's actions. The police are taking this positive action and will not tolerate anti-social behaviour in Crawley."

Some of the incidents which have led to the action include jumping on shutters as shopkeepers are trying to shut their shops, forcibly holding doors shut to prevent customers getting in and out shops, threatening shopkeepers and causing damage at Bewbush Youth Club.

Sgt Ball said the order would also prohibit the boys from using Bewbush Leisure Centre and the youth club. He said: "There has been an unacceptable level of criminal behaviour, under-age drinking and harassment of local businesses, which individually are of a minor nature but collectively cause the community of Bewbush and, more recently, Ifield, disruption, alarm and distress."

Sgt Ball said the five youths first started to cause trouble in 1998 when both the CCTV cameras and the lights were out of order in Dorsten Square. They ripped up flower beds and smashed telephone boxes. At that time 84 per cent of complaints about bad behaviour in that area related to the youths.

Following home visits, this was reduced to 35 per cent and for a year the youths behaved but started causing trouble again in October, leading a gang of up to 20 youths and girls. Sgt Ball said probation officers tried counselling the youths but this had not worked. They admitted they misbehaved because they were bored.

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