A legal expert is to be appointed in Sussex to lead the fight against teenage yobs.

The Home Office has picked Sussex as one of 12 areas to benefit from a specialist anti-social behaviour co-ordinator.

The prosecutor, who will cost about £165,000 over the next two years, will take the lead in pursuing antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) through the courts.

The expert will also offer advice on the other powers available to tackle loutish behaviour.

Home Secretary David Blunkett said: "Antisocial behaviour is about a minority of people ruining neighbourhoods and destroying people's quality of life.

"Communities should not tolerate this and can fight back to restore local pride for the benefit of the law-abiding majority.

"The specialist prosecutors are a vital part of the fightback.

"They will lead the response of the criminal justice system to match the courage and dedication of victims and witnesses with a firm resolve to ensure offenders receive the punishments they deserve."

ASBOs can be used to stop a trouble-maker from visiting a particular street or building or harassing a particular person.

Because they are civil orders they require less strict evidence than if a person was charged with an offence in a criminal court.

They can be used against anyone over ten and carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison or detention if the order is breached.

Attorney General Lord Goldsmith QC said: "We have now got the tools to tackle antisocial behaviour.

"Antisocial behaviour prosecutors - 'yob-busters' as one newspaper called them - are going to help us do that."