A MOBILE youth club has returned to a New Forest village after being driven out by escalating antisocial behaviour.

The Forest Bus has started visiting Hordle again to give teenagers something to do in the isolated community near Lymington.

Youth workers say the sessions have proved extremely positive and that the old troubles have not resurfaced.

Jane Peacock, Forest Bus general manager, told the Daily Echo: "I can only say that the sessions have been absolutely brilliant. The young people have really responded well and the workers are really pleased with how the sessions are running, so far they haven't had any trouble at all."

Shock waves were sent through the Hordle community last year when local teenagers caused havoc in the village.

They barricaded parish councillors in their meetings on more than one occasion and caused thousands of pounds of damage to village buildings.

Forest Bus youth workers stopped their weekly visits to Hordle last November after a gang of youths pelted the vehicle and tried to overturn it by rocking it from side to side. They returned to the village after Christmas without the bus to speak to teenagers on the streets about what they wanted.

They have been taking the vehicle back to Hordle for the past three weeks on a trial basis.

"The young people said they missed the bus and wanted it to come back," said Ms Peacock. "We needed to take a step back and review things, but we didn't want to let young people down and we recognised they needed some input.

"Just because people have been challenging, it doesn't mean they shouldn't get a service. We want to overcome these problems together."

The manager said that the service has experienced similar problems in other villages and that it tends to occur in "phases".

"I don't think the answer is to stop going, it's to try to overcome the difficulties."

About 20 to 30 youngsters use the Forest Bus when it visits Hordle every Thursday evening.

Facilities include a big screen, DVD, music equipment, arts and crafts and sports gear.