YOUNG troublemakers are punished faster in North Yorkshire than anywhere else in England and Wales, new government statistics reveal.

Police, prosecutors, courts and the county's youth offending team are combining forces in a high-speed approach to persistent young offenders that could help cut youth crime.

On average, a criminal youngster now learns his fate - including getting locked up - within 62 days of capture in North Yorkshire or York.

But in the West Midlands, the same criminal could go unpunished or be on the loose for 134 days after arrest.

David Poole, manager of the Youth Offending Team for York said: "It is an example of agencies working together in the criminal justice system to achieve a particular task and get a good result.

"The effect is that the young person makes a greater connection between their offending and the sentence they receive from the courts."

He hoped this would deter persistent young offenders from re-offending.

Inspector Derek Calvert, custody inspector based at Harrogate, said police working in custody suites now had special training to identify and deal with persistent young offenders.

This enabled the fast-track system to start operating from the moment of arrest.

The targeted youngsters are all aged between ten and 18 and have been sentenced on at least three separate occasions by a court in the UK.

Government statistics show that North Yorkshire is one of only two areas in England and Wales to have done better than the national target of 71 days.

On April 1, the maximum custody sentence youth courts could impose was increased from six months to two years for a single offence, which enables them to deal with more serious cases and helps cut out delays caused by committals to a crown court.

Already, York Youth Court has handed out a year-long sentence to one youth and separate sentences of eight months to two more youths.