It does not take many youths to cause mayhem in a busy city like Brighton and Hove.

Joshua Haggart has been responsible for a tenth of all the anti-social incidents in the central area over the last 12 months.

Lee Gumbrill has been a one-man crime wave in Whitehawk, making the lives of many decent people a misery.

Now tough action has been taken against both young men by the courts. Haggart has been banned from almost 100 shops in the Churchill Square area while Gumbrill has been banned from Whitehawk.

The court heard Haggart had been harassing and intimidating shop workers with almost 100 offences in the last year.

Antisocial orders, which were used in both cases, are a new form of action designed to make youngsters come to their senses and protect neighbourhoods from their activities.

The shock treatment might work in the case of Haggart, who was described to the court as something of a reformed character.

If it does not and he breaks the order, harsher action will have to be taken, which includes a heavy fine or prison.

Gumbrill has also been given a final chance to reform after years of being a violent nuisance.

These are two young men who should have the best years of their lives ahead of them. They have been given one last chance.

If they do not take advantage of it, society will have to be protected from them.