Neighbours from hell face being kicked out of their homes and into closely supervised "sin bins" to stop them blighting their communities.

Hastings and Brighton and Hove are among more than 50 towns and cities across the country running Family Intervention Projects in a last-ditch attempt to challenge the root causes of bad behaviour.

Under the projects, details of which have now been published by the Government, outreach workers will be sent to get a grip on troublesome families with a burst of intensive support and regular home visits.

These can include trying to instil family routines at bedtime, sending mums and dads on parenting courses and helping them access benefits and health services.

In the most serious cases, where a family shows no sign of improvement, they can be moved to a "managed property" in another part of town to get them away from their neighbours and, with the help of one-to-one support, try to get them back on track.

Yesterday, the Crime Reduction Initiative, (CRI), which runs the intervention project in Hastings, said it would consider rehousing the most difficult families.

Until now the project, which received £133,000 from the Government this year, has focused on working with families in their own homes.

But CRI area manager Sue Vaughan said: "When a community has had enough, no matter how a family changes its behaviour, the perception will always be that they are antisocial.

"Sometimes in those cases it's necessary and useful to be able to move them somewhere else to enable a family to change."

The CRI is also investigating the possibility of designating a block of flats for a group of problem families, offering round-the-clock assistance and even more intensive monitoring.

By contrast Brighton and Hove City Council, which was given £189,000 for its Family Intervention Project in 2007/8, said it had no plans to rehouse anyone and would concentrate on working with families in their existing addresses.

It can cost about £8,000 to help a single family, either in their own home or by moving them, but the Government estimates the cost to the taxpayer of doing nothing - and picking up the tab for social, children's and housing services, policing, court and criminal justice services - is between £250,000 and £350,000 per family, per year.

A total of 53 projects have been launched nationally under the two-year £15 million scheme. They are expected to "troubleshoot"

1,500 families a year.

Under current legislation, problem families can be given antisocial behaviour orders or evicted from their homes but it is hoped the new projects will stop problems escalating that far.

Louise Casey, co-ordinator of the Government's anti-yob Respect programme, said: "These projects grip families, use enforcement action and intensive help and are proven to turn families around."

Clare Tickell, from children's charity NCH, said: "It makes sense that if you help the families, you'll help the community.

"Getting to the root of the problem can change behaviour forever - not only giving children in these families better health, education and well-being but improving the lives of the whole community."

Do you think the sin-bin idea is a good way to deal with problem neighbours? Have your say below.