SHOPKEEPERS have spoken of the "hell" they suffered at the hands of four teenagers who have been served with anti-social behaviour orders.

The two girls and two boys were among a gang of youths who carried out a "deliberate and sustained" reign of terror in the Halliwell area during the last 12 months.

David Officer, aged 14, of Thorpe Street, Lee Kirkham, aged 15, of Elgin Street, Candida Knox, aged 17, of Chaucer Street, Halliwell, and Lindzie McCormick, aged 17, of St Gregory's Close, Farnworth, were given the orders at Bolton Magistrates Court on Friday.

Bolton Council applied for the restrictions, which range between two and four years, to protect the community from any further trouble.

The court heard that the four friends used to congregate outside the shops in Halliwell Road on a nightly basis.

During their year-long campaign of terror and intimidation, they carried chair legs and baseball bats, drank alcohol on the street, verbally abused customers, threw bottles at passing cars, stole from the shops and smashed windows.

One shopkeeper, who did not want to be named for fear of reprisals, said: "It has been hell. We have suffered problems every single night since last Christmas. Customers would be too scared to come in. It really affected my business.

"They would threaten me, swear at me, abuse customers, frighten elderly residents living nearby and even smash windows in other shops."

Another shopkeeper in Halliwell Road said: "They used to run in here and steal things.

"They were always asking for cigarettes and alcohol but when you asked them for identification, they became abusive. They used to stand outside and hassle customers."

A third shopkeeper said: "They would start fighting among themselves and things would get knocked over.

"I hope the problem doesn't just move somewhere else. I wouldn't like anyone to put up with the hell we have." Kirkham, Knox and McCormick's ASBO orders will run for four years, while a two-year ban was served on Officer.

They are banned from associating with each other in any public place and are only allowed to enter a number of designated streets in Halliwell.

If any of the four are caught breaching their orders, they face arrest and a maximum five-year jail sentence.

Cllr Linda Thomas, who represents Halliwell, said: "We need to thank the community for coming forward and being brave enough to stand up to these youths."