Teenage tearaways and neighbours from hell are being ordered to behave in unprecedented numbers.

Figures show more court orders have been handed out to antisocial people in Brighton and Hove in the past six months than during the previous five years.

The number of antisocial behaviour orders, or Asbos, enforced in the city has leapt from 23 at the start of the year to 58 today.

Brighton and Hove City Council and regeneration body eb4u are planning another 22 Asbos for homophobic and racist attacks, violence in and around the city centre and nuisance behaviour on council premises.

In Hastings, 13 Asbos have been handed out during the past 12 months compared with three in the previous two years.

Nationwide, the total is estimated at 3,000.

The use of Asbos has gone well beyond what the Government had in mind when they were introduced in 1998.

Originally intended to combat youth hooliganism and vandalism, Asbos are now being taken out to deal with a wide range of antisocial behaviour.

In Brighton and Hove this has included criminal damage, begging, street drinking, violent crime in a public place, violent behaviour, vehicle crime, racist and homophobic crimes, theft, domestic violence, sexual predators targeting vulnerable women, neighbour wars, hoax telephone calls, bullying, street robbery and abusive behaviour.

Breaches can bring jail terms of up to five years, even when the initial offence was not serious enough to usually warrant custody.

The Home Office has hailed the escalation as a success but civil liberties groups complain the orders are issued in civil courts where the burden of proof is lower than the "beyond reasonable doubt" test used by magistrates and juries.

A spokesman for Brighton and Hove City Council said: "Asbos operate to protect and maintain our law-abiding communities across Brighton and Hove.

"Overall, they do appear to be achieving the goal of addressing antisocial behaviour in the city."

A spokesman for human rights group Liberty said: "We don't object to all Asbos but we object strongly where they get out of hand.

"It's when you ban people from whole areas that it becomes a problem ... they congregate somewhere else and the problem is moved on rather than being solved."