Anti-social behaviour has become one of Britain's biggest concerns. The number of people citing aggressive and unpleasant neighbours or marauding gangs of teenagers as the main causes of stress in their lives is constantly growing. But as one plucky pensioner and a pair of brave tenants who have received awards from the Home Office have proved, there is something that can be done about it.

Brian Balchin deserves a quiet life. Aged 71 and at the end of a long career as an antiques dealer he should be entitled to put his feet up and enjoy his retirement. So should most of his fellow tenants at Jasmine Court in Patcham, Brighton.

But until recently their lives were far from peaceful. They were being made miserable by one person, a tenant in their sheltered accommodation who ran roughshod for two years.

Dealing drugs from his ground floor flat and allowing it to be used as a drinking den for a collection of rowdy friends, he held an absolute disregard for the mostly-elderly tenants of the building.

Mr Balchin said: "They used to swear and curse at other residents, throw beer bottles and cans everywhere around the place and play loud music all day and night. It was very nasty."

Many of the residents lived in fear of the aggressive tenant and his friends and were too scared to do anything about them.

Their kind of anti-social behaviour was typical of that being experienced in streets and estates across Sussex, where good natured residents feel they can do nothing about the people who make their lives miserable.

Mr Balchin, though, was not prepared to put up with it. Working with officers from Brighton and Hove City Council, he co-ordinated efforts to do something about this neighbour from hell.

The pensioner and his fellow residents collected evidence of the unpleasant and anti-social behaviour until they eventually had enough to support an eviction appeal.

They built up a catalogue of occasions when residents had been on the receiving end of unwarranted abuse or had been made to suffer noise during the night.

An eviction hearing was held at Brighton Magistrates' Court and plucky Mr Balchin gave evidence.

PC Andrew Fall, from Sussex Police's anti-social behaviour team in Brighton, said: "Often people are not keen to appear in court because of fear of retribution. It makes a lot of difference for us when people are brave enough to give evidence."

The tenant was evicted in November after more than two years of plaguing the residents and their quality of life has improved no end.

Mr Balchin said: "When we finally got him out he went away and never came back. His friends don't come around anymore. The whole place is peaceful now and everyone is happy."

Tenants association chairman Mr Balchin was given a standing ovation by his fellow residents after the eviction but has since learned he has earned an even bigger prize.

Last month he was told he had been nominated to receive the new Respect Award For Taking A Stand (RAFTA) from the Home Office. The prizes have been introduced to reward people who stand up to vandals, thugs and nuisance neighbours.

Brighton and Hove city councillor Gill Mitchell, the chairwoman of the council's environment committee, said: "Mr Balchin deserves real congratulations. He and his fellow tenants stuck together and stuck their necks out. They worked with us to sort things out and now their quality of life is much better."

Mr Balchin is one of three winners from Sussex who will each receive £1,000 for their efforts.

The other two winners were Eric Davison from East Preston, near Littlehampton, and Carole Field, from Bognor Regis.

Mrs Field and her neighbours were constantly disturbed by the anti-social activities of the residents living next door to her. Continuous parties led to disturbances for the community day and night, including swearing, violence and vandalism.

Residents became scared to leave their properties as the young visitors would often ask for drugs and alcohol, turning nasty if refused.

Mrs Field took it upon herself to tackle the problem head on, engaging with the police and anti-social behaviour team at Arun District Council and encouraging other residents to do likewise.

Like Mr Balchin she co-ordinated efforts to provide the evidence which led to the tenant being evicted and eventually returned peace to the community.

To cap the achievement Mrs Field organised a barbecue for residents to celebrate the new sense of community spirit the situation had provoked.

Mrs Field said: "I am very grateful for the award. All the residents pulled together to achieve it. We joined forces to do this and now have a friendlier neighbourhood. The community spirit has made it a better place to live."

She said the money she won would go towards local projects.

Mrs Field said: "It will be spent to fund another party and to improve the lighting around the garages in the area, which will make local residents feel even safer."

Arun district councillor Roger Elkins, the council member responsible for community safety in the area, said: "Mrs Field refused to be beaten by the ongoing problems and showed great strength and tenacity in encouraging and rallying others in the community not to give in either.

"As a consequence I believe they are a stronger community and have turned a living nightmare into a positive result."

Eric Davison lived next door to a young couple who had violent rows 24 hours a day. When the man moved out Mr Davison, and his wife Jo, thought the problem had come to an end but it got much worse.

The woman, left living in the house with three children including a baby, began to have parties and play loud music all hours of the day and night.

She had various men living at the house with her who would be abusive to other neighbours. The family had a Staffordshire bull terrier which killed two cats leaving Eric's other neighbours devastated.

Mr Davison, of Saxon Close, East Preston, said: "They kicked down the panels in the fence to my back garden.

"Different people would visit her all the time. We suspected drug-dealing was going on in there.

Neighbours said their lives had been made a misery by the incessant anti-social behaviour.

Mr Davison, 53, who coaches athletes at Worthing Harriers Athletics Club, said untaxed cars were being dumped cars along the street. Six vehicles had to be towed away.

Another neighbour, childminder Chris Jukes, 42, said: "We heard loud music night and day. There were arguments and volatile behaviour. There were numerous people coming and going.

"Numerous vehicles were driving at speed and revving up their engines.

"We bought this house because it's at the end of a close and only people who live here should come down."

Mr Davison said: "The police asked if I would be a witness and I said: 'Let's get it sorted'."

He kept a diary of anti-social behaviour and gave evidence in court.

In August, after months of effort by Mr Davison, the woman was arrested on suspicion of possession of class A drugs and was banned from entering the three-bedroom terraced property which was boarded up by police. The inside of the house was dishevelled with sparse furniture and in a state of neglect.

He said: "It was horrendous. There needs to be something out there to help other people in the same position we were in."

Mr Davison plans to put the £1,000 prize money he received into a community project called Outreach, which will send representatives to speak to youths hanging around on the street and encourage them to take up more constructive activities.

Coun Elkins praised Mr Davison and Mrs Field for what they had done.

He said: "We need more people like them who will take a stand and make a difference. Both of these residents were committed to making the area where they lived a more pleasant place to live and thoroughly deserve to win this award."

The awards are part of continued efforts to reduce anti-social behaviour in Britain. On a visit to Brighton and Hove in January, Prime Minister Tony Blair declared the city a Respect area, promising funding for projects to tackle anti-social behaviour. The city council will receive £400,000 for the work over the next two years, as will Hastings, which was also declared a Respect zone.

In February former amateur boxer Curtis Mulcare won praise from the public for fighting back against a gang of chavs who "happy-slapped" him near Churchill Square. He knocked one youth out and hospitalised another. The youths were charged with offences for their part in the fracas and are currently on bail awaiting appearances in court.

Mr Balchin will receive his RAFTA at a special ceremony in Birmingham on April 19. Mr Davison and Mrs Field have already received theirs.

What do you think? Is yob behaviour out of control in your area? Could Respect money help sort out your neighbourhood? Add your comments below.