Asbo bans drunk teen yob from 14 streets in Capital

A TEENAGER has been banned from part of his own street after terrorising local residents.

Alexander Forbes, 16, has been hit with an "exclusion zone" barring him from more than a dozen areas of Bingham and Magdalene in the Capital. It includes part of Magdalene Drive, yards from the family home.

Forbes was accused of antisocial behaviour, including the drunken intimidation of residents, shouting and swearing, and making excessive noise over two years.

Today, residents said a gang of youths were running amok in the area, smashing house and car windows and threatening elderly residents. Forbes, who turns 17 on Saturday, said he "didn't care" that he had been given the order covering 14 streets after an application to Edinburgh Sheriff Court by council chiefs.

But his mother pledged to hire a lawyer to overturn the decision after claiming her son had been "picked on" as one member of a gang. The teenager signed an acceptable behaviour contract in September last year but ignored several warning letters and continued to cause trouble.

Forbes, known as "Ecky", refused offers of support from the local community safety team and police, including working with a youth inclusion worker.

A resident, who asked not to be named, said: "He is one of the worst around here. He's always causing bother as part of a larger group. I don't think this Asbo will make much difference to him."

Another neighbour said: "There is a gang of teenagers who hang around the shops here and at Brunstane Primary School. They get drunk, threaten people and throw bricks and stones at cars and windows. They just don't care. There are a lot of elderly people living around here and they can be left scared to leave their homes.

"The worst time is Friday and Saturday night. It can be a nightmare sometimes."

Forbes refused to comment on his behaviour at his home yesterday, except to say he did not care about the Asbo.

Susan Mooney, the council's east neighbourhood manager, said: "This Asbo should send a strong message to the local community that we will not hesitate to take tough action against those who make their fellow residents' lives a misery by their persistent antisocial behaviour."

Chief Inspector Donald Mackinnon, of Lothian and Borders Police, said he hoped the Asbo would "reassure the local community" that antisocial behaviour would not be tolerated. He added: "Any such incidences of antisocial behaviour will be dealt with in a similar manner."