A CENTRE that targets potential troublemakers as young as eight could be set up in Swindon.

The council's children and young people's overview committee has asked for a feasibility study to be carried out, looking at the possibility of setting up a Youth Inclusion Programme (YIP).

Coun Mavis Childs (Con, Walcot) says the town desperately needs to tackle youngsters before they start falling foul of the law.

She believes the behaviour of some youths is bordering on anarchy and has described the streets as jungle law'.

The YIP would be set up for eight to 16-year-olds in a specific part of town and staff would help with education, training and eventually finding employment.

Potential areas mentioned at Tuesday night's meeting included Walcot, Parks and Penhill.

Kevin Leaning, manager of the Swindon Youth Offending Team, believes such a centre is needed in the town.

He said: "I'm really pleased with the positive support I received at the meeting.

"I think we will end up with a YIP in the future because they are definitely proven to work and they do reduce offending and anti-social behaviour in other areas.

"It's just a matter of when and where in the town it would be set up, what's the area of greatest need? Is it the town centre or some of the areas around the town centre?

"The YIP is the one thing we haven't been able to do in the past and is purely based on finances."

The YIP would cost £200,000 to set up and it would be funded by the Youth Justice Board and the council.

Some towns have four or five projects in different areas with some catering for the lower end of the age group and others specifically for the older ones.

Mr Leaning said: "They specifically target young people in an area with early interventions that are based around education, training and employment as the ultimate goal to get these people off the streets.

"They are put together so that the most troublesome are identified. They are very successful in some areas of the country."

The number of youngsters that have been referred to the Youth Offending Team for offences of disorder in the town centre has dropped in recent years.

The figures, which run from April to March, show in 2003/04 there was 83 referred, in 2004/05 it was 82, in 2005/2006 it was 68 and for 2006/2007 there were 61.

The proportion of youngsters who re-offend is currently 27 per cent in 12 months.

Nationally, 56 per cent re-offend in two years so while the figures are not like for like it shows the Swindon team is working well.

But councillors say the figures for the town centre simply show that the problem youths have been pushed out into the surrounding areas.

Coun Childs said: "Not long ago we had the gold cup for the highest rate of teenage pregnancies. Let's not wait until we get the gold cup for the yobs. I think we should act now.

"These youths are not selective. They have rampaged in Wootton Bassett, they have graffitied in Wroughton, people are having an awful time in Lawn and Walcot. They are everywhere.

"I think we desperately need a YIP. It's our youths that went to Wootton Bassett and are creating all the problems in the urban areas and we have got to take responsibility.

"We have got to weigh the costs of what we pay out for vandalism, and that's horrendous, and setting this up. I think we would win out with the YIP.

"I think we are bordering on anarchy with these children.

"It's jungle law out there at the moment and anything we can do we have got a responsibility to do. Doing nothing is not an option."