The youngsters have been sentenced for motoring offences

Young motoring offenders on Teesside are being given a gritty insight into the possible consequences of their actions.

Hartlepool Youth Offending service (YOS) has joined forces with Cleveland Fire Brigade to try to make teenagers aware of what can happen when they steal a car.

The scheme involves offenders watching, and taking part in, training exercises involving mock road accidents where casualties have to be rescued from vehicles.

The young people involved are all subject to Reparation Orders, sentences introduced as part of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998.

The sentences are designed to benefit the victims of crime directly or, if this is not possible, the community as a whole.

'Real thing'

Paul Andrew, Hartlepool YOS Reparation Officer, said: "Hopefully, this will make the young offenders think twice before committing car crimes again.

"Car theft in the town is a fairly common problem which affects not only the owner of the vehicle involved, but also innocent members of the public and the emergency services.

"This scheme is designed to bring home to young offenders the potential consequences of their actions.

"This is as close as we can get to the real thing and the aim is to reflect the seriousness of this type of crime and the fact that it can easily result in a fatality."

The scheme also gives firefighters a chance to explain the effects of car-related crime on them.

A spokesman for Cleveland Fire Brigade said: "Dealing with accidents involving casualties can be very harrowing for firefighters so we would welcome any initiative that might help to prevent them."