A teenage tearaway who has blighted residents' lives for years with his disruptive and criminal behaviour has been put behind bars.

The 16-year-old, from Highcliffe, Winchester, was sentenced at Basingstoke Youth Court to four months in a young offender's institution after breaking an antisocial behaviour order.

Said to be ringleader of a gang of up to 15 youths, he cannot be named. The youth court does have the power to waive automatic anonymity, but no application was made to lift reporting restrictions.

Starting in 2002, the youngster has been charged with 11 offences, ranging from criminal damage, public order offences and theft of motor vehicles.

In November, 2003, he was the first person in Winchester to have an Asbo placed upon him, banning him from the areas where the offences were committed.

This was amended in July, widening the area and banning him from antisocial behaviour likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress. Since then, he was arrested and charged a further nine times.

His sentence is a result of breaching the amended Asbo after harassing aged residents in Wharf Hill. One said: "He was a nuisance - swearing all the time."

Hearing that he had been sent to a young offender's institution, the resident added: "It might stop him if we put him away for a little while."

Another said: "He's got youngsters hanging round with him. I've heard he's the cause of half the problems in Winchester."

Community safety officer, Sgt Karen Fisher, said: "This youngster has had many chances to change his ways and has ignored all of them. Antisocial behaviour orders are an excellent tool and can make a real difference to communities.

"An Asbo is effective in dealing with someone like him, because it gives the police more powers. A lot of the offences he has been charged for, the courts would never have imposed a sentence on."

But she added that the aim was for youngsters to learn through the errors of their ways. "The hope is not that they breach it and we lock them up, but that they don't breach them.

"This is the second time in recent months that offenders who have broken Asbos have been handed custodial sentences. We hope this sends a clear message to others that we do take antisocial behaviour and Asbos seriously."