PARENTS of young hooligans who bring misery and heartbreak to estates throughout Bolton are to be evicted from their homes.

Troublemakers' families are to be ordered out of their council houses in an effort to crackdown on their activities. Police chiefs, who say the anti-social behaviour of the tearaways is blighting Bolton, are now preparing a list of the worst offenders.

The drastic action is being mounted in a joint operation with the council's housing company -- Bolton At Home -- after residents in areas throughout Bolton complained their lives are being ruined by the criminal and loutish behaviour of youngsters. It follows a week in which youths, some as young as 12, caused problems in Farnworth, Bromley Cross, Halliwell, The Haulgh and Leverhulme Park.

Police and housing officers are to share information on problem youths, and that could lead to an eviction letter being sent to their parents.

Families will be told that they are in breach of their tenancy agreement and Bolton At Home officers, not police, will then carry out the eviction. Supt Lee Bruckshaw, of Bolton Police, said: "Anti-social behaviour is one of our top priorities. We will work jointly with Bolton At Home because both organisations are often dealing with the same people who are always causing the problems."

He added: "Taking offenders through the courts does not work. People often appear 40 or 50 times."

The police chief's get-tough stance came as residents in Farnworth called a meeting to discuss the activities of the troublemakers who are blighting their lives. Residents on the Ormrod Estate in Farnworth say they are being threatened by young thugs who repeatedly throw bricks at windows and urinate on front doors.

In one incident, a 57-year-old woman was threatened by a young troublemaker brandishing a hand gun.

The weapon was thrust through her car window and pushed to her forehead as she parked up outside her house.

She said: "The shock of what the young boy did only dawned on me later. My dad, who is in his 80s, came out and they even pulled the gun on him."

And in Hall i'th' Wood, residents are being terrorised by yobs who ripped out CCTV security cameras and have been throwing paving stones at houses and council offices.

Problems have also been revealed in The Haulgh where, last weekend, vandals destroyed a flower garden that was planted in Bridgeman Park.

And, in a separate act of vandalism, youths ripped up the athletics hammer net in Leverhulme Park. A spokesman for Bolton at Home said: "We are taking a very tough and pro-active line on anti-social behaviour at the moment.

"We will not tolerate this behaviour and have recently evicted three tenants for committing serious anti-social behaviour on our estates. Anyone committing acts of anti-social behaviour on our estates will be subject to action, whether they are owner occupiers, council or private landlord tenants."

Bolton Council's new leader Cllr Barbara Ronson said: "One of our election pledges was to make Bolton safer and we will follow this through."

Bolton Council currently has 43 anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOS) in force to curb disruptive behaviour by limiting where a person can go within the community and what they are allowed to do.

It also has 51 Acceptable Behaviour Contracts, a pre-cursor to an ASBO.

Supt Bruckshaw added: "Parents have a massive role to play. They should realise that their tenancy is at risk if they don't control their children."