THE Evening News is set to have new powers to name and shame teenage thugs who cause terror on the streets.

The tough measure is at the centre of controversial Government plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour.

Home Secretary David Blunkett's White Paper proposes lifting the automatic ban on naming under-18s who are given an anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) on top of a criminal conviction.

It will allow local people to know when a youth has been banned from entering a housing estate or a town centre - so they can alert the police if the order is breached.

Under the present system, some of the youths given ASBOs have been named after successful appeals by the News or the police.

The most recent example was 14-year-old Ashley Harris, of Warndon, who was named, shamed and banned from areas of the city in January after being labelled a gang "ringleader".

But the legal assumption has been the identities of those given an ASBO after a conviction for a criminal offence should remain shrouded in secrecy.

In a similar incident last month, Worcester Youth Court ruled that a 15-year-old, who was also barred from parts of Worcester, should remain anonymous.

Now magistrates will be expected to "name and shame".

Local retailers were delighted with yesterday's announcement.

"If people know who the culprits are it eliminates many of the problems we have had in the past," said the assistant manager of one Warndon shop, who did not wish to be named. "Naming them will further reduce the abuse that some members of our staff have received."

Mayor of Worcester, Councillor Robert Rowden, said it was a difficult issue.

"Naming and shaming has got its pluses," he said. "People should have a right to know about the character of those in the community.

"But the idea of making them notorious among their friends is the other side of the coin."

A Home Office source said the public had a right to know about the behaviour of destructive individuals. "Local people have the right to know," he said.

Meanwhile, police and local authorities will be given powers to designate "zones" where gangs of yobs gather.

At present, police can only order the troublemakers home if they are causing "threatening, abusive or insulting behaviour".

But, where a zone has been designated, they will be able to act as soon as yobs gather, even before trouble has broken out.