COMPLAINTS about youth crime have dropped by 300pc in Sefton thanks to a scheme which teaches activities like basketball and dancing to teenage troublemakers.

New police figures reveal the number of calls about youth disorder in the borough have dropped from almost 600 calls in September 2001 to just over 200 in the same month this year.

The decrease is being attributed to a new Youth Only Zones scheme which works with young people at risk of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour. The YOZ project was set up in partnership with Merseyside Police after a council crime and disorder audit discovered high levels of concern in communities about yobs causing a disturbance.

The report found there was a lack of facilities for younger people and the YOZ was set up with a £569,000 grant from Sefton's neighbourhood renewal fund in April last year.

The scheme offers activities for youths aged between the ages of 11 and 17 who it is feared might otherwise congregate on the streets.

Initially youth workers hoped around 400 young people would take part but the scheme has proved a runaway sucess with 622 members attending at least one session each weekend evening.

Activities include football, basketball, badminton, hockey, fitness classes, swimming, computer games, squash, table tennis, dance and art workshops, roller skating, volleyball and cricket.

In a joint statement, Sefton's strategic directors for leisure, children's and community services, Roger Pontefract and Bryn Marsh, said: "We are absolutely delighted that the project has, along with other schemes, resulted in such a drop in the number of calls to the police and also helped to develop young people's interests." Merseyside police partnership development officer Steve McGilvray said: "This has complemented the work which Merseyside police and other agencies carry out with young people."

Other agencies involved are: Sefton Youth Service, Leisure Services, Social Inclusion Unit, the Community Safety Partnership, Sefton Regeneration Department NRF team, Southport and Formby Primary Care Trust and South Sefton Primary Care Trust.