THREE men who carried out a campaign of harassment against a Littleport family have been made the subject of strict court orders.

Danny Jo Nunn, 20, of Cornfield Lane, Littleport, Jordan Coleby, 18, of Lawns Crescent, Little Downham, and 18-year-old Aarron Waite, of Wellington Street, Littleport made the lives of the family a misery during a short period between August and September, last year.

On their own, or as part of a group, the trio abused and threatened the family and their friends. Coleby, along with another teenager also targeted the Co-op, McColls and the BP garage, shoplifting and being abusive to staff.

Police charged members of the group with a number of crimes relating to the harassment, and simultaneously applied for anti-social behaviour orders (Asbos) against them.

At Cambridge Magistrates’ Court on Monday (March 5) Coleby and Nunn were both given two-year Asbos banning them from contacting the victims, or entering their property or garden. They were also banned from engaging in any anti-social behaviour in Littleport with each other and two other teenagers.

Coleby was also made the subject of a 15-month community order with supervision. Nunn was given an 18-month community order with supervision and ordered to pay �100 compensation.

Both will face a possible custodial sentence if they breach the orders.

Waite was also made subject of a two-year restraining order prohibiting him from contacting the victims and their friends or entering their property. He was also given a 12-month community order with supervision.

All three were each also ordered to pay �70 costs.

Brian Tully, Anti-social behaviour co-ordinator for East Cambridgeshire, said: “This may seem an unusual use of Asbos, but the applications were made because the sustained harassment campaign - appalling for the victim family and friends - also impacted on the community.

“Normal law-abiding citizens should neither be subject to such trauma, nor see this sort of extreme anti-social behaviour in their community. The key objective was to provide respite and protection to the victim family, which was achieved initially by police and court bail conditions, and is now reinforced for a period of two years.

“Coleby and another teenager stole from Littleport shops - targeting the Co-op, McColls, and the BP garage. As well as committing theft, they were abusive to shop staff. These again are serious matter, shoplifting is a crime against society, because we all pay for it through increased prices and the staff who serve us should not be exposed to the unpleasantness and risk of dealing with thieves.”

Area Commander, Chief Inspector Russ Waterston added: “The purpose of anti-social behaviour legislation is to protect the community, and I hope its imaginative use in this instance will deter Coleby, Nunn and their associates from their criminality and extreme anti-social behaviour.

“Residents should report any breaches to police by calling 101.”