Angel-face tearaway Stefan Gilmore has become the youngest boy in Britain to be made subject of an antisocial behaviour order (Asbo) forcing him to behave.

Schoolboy Stefan, who is just 11, has been in trouble for offences from joyriding to theft, muggings and burglaries over the past 18 months.

But his family today told The Argus: "He's just a mixed-up kid."

His mother Ann-Marie, 34, of Brightling Avenue in Ore, near Hastings, said: "He's a lovely boy but I find it hard to control him. We have asked for help."

She told The Argus how Stefan - the second of her eight children - had become embroiled with a teenage gang, known as the After Dark Crew (ADC), who had led him astray.

His age means he cannot be sent into custody, even at a young offenders' institution.

His father claims the gang relies on Stefan, who attends New Horizons School in Tilebarn Road, to carry out street robberies.

He said: "They know he's too young to get arrested and charged. We have given a police statement against them.

"His head has been set on fire, his clothes have been set on fire, he has been beaten on his legs, he has been given class-A drugs and even held hostage. He has been mentally abused.

"He is a mixed-up, scared kid and he needs help.

"I'm sick and tired of the way the police treat him. When anything happens they immediately think it's Stefan Gilmore.

"Instead of threatening him with an Asbo why can't they give him something that will occupy him?"

Stefan's parents said his offending began when they were moved to the Ore council estate two years ago from Brook Street in Hastings.

The couple sleep on sofa-beds in the living room while their seven sons and one daughter share three bedrooms upstairs.

His mother said: "Before we moved he was just an ordinary kid. Now he's not really attending school, he's just running away.

"But I've still got hope for him. He's an intelligent boy."

She said Stefan, who listens to house and garage music, became caught up with the gang through boredom.

His doting grandmother Eileen Bates, a retired nurse who lives next door, said: "He's a lovely boy. He's not nasty or evil.

"The problem is if someone tells him to do something or dares him, he will go and do it. He's too advanced for his age and he just gets bored. That's why he gets into trouble.

"I don't believe he deserves to be singled out. He's just hyper. He has to be on the go all the time."

The Asbo was imposed at Hastings Youth Court and redrafted to make it easier for the 11-year-old to understand.

The simplified ruling reads: "Stefan must not start or be involved in any violent or naughty behaviour outside his house. He must not swear or use hand signals."

His family believe the only way Stefan will be brought back on to the straight and narrow is if they are moved to a bigger house outside Hastings.

His mother said: "In my opinion he doesn't like it around here. What we have to do is move to give Stefan a fresh start."

A police officer who knows Stefan said: "There's three-and-a-half foot of him and he's got an angelic face. But he's a right terror."