A GWENT community volunteer says more full-time youth workers are needed to prevent yobs terrorising neighbourhoods.

Phil Hughes, 55, of Rassau, Ebbw Vale, called for more funding to step up the drive against yob culture, in the wake of the trial against three teenage thugs who kicked a man to death outside his home in Cheshire last year.

Mr Hughes spoke out after Garry Newlove's killers were convicted of murder last week.

Despite having his car petrol-bombed and suffering four death threats, Mr Hughes has continued to stand up to teenage tearaways and criminals in Summerfield Road, where he lives.

Ten years ago he begun standing outside his home noting down registration numbers of cars belonging to suspected drug dealers.

Within weeks, a petrol-soaked newspaper was pushed through the letterbox of the house he shares with wife Julie.

But the former soldier refused to abandon the fight for safer neighbourhoods.

He has now turned his attention to obtaining a £550,000 lottery grant for a new youth centre in Rassau, which would be built onto the existing Summerfield Road community centre.

However, he warned it would only reduce anti-social behaviour if it is given full-time staffing, and urged the Assembly and local authorities to release more funding for youth provision.

"Some of the kids in gangs here are as young as nine - if we can engage with them then we can put them on the right path," said Mr Hughes, who chairs Ebbw Vale Crime Prevention Panel.

"I know a lot of the lads who have been into bother and it's been because they haven't got anything to do.

"It hasn't got as bad as the situation in Warrington, thank goodness, but we need to do a lot more work to make the communities safe.

Sergeant Bob Lewis of Ebbw Vale police said better youth provision would be "a step in the right direction" in the drive against anti-social behaviour.

"Everywhere we go in Ebbw Vale, the theme we hear is 'there's nothing for the kids to do?'" he said.