The Peterborough Evening Telegraph has won Government praise for its fight to stamp out “yobbish” behaviour on city centre streets.

Prompted by increasing concern over gangs of youths terrorising residents, the paper launched its Shop the Yobs campaign in May, and it has now received the support of Home Office minister Hazel Blears.

The minister for crime reduction and policing has hailed the campaign as “vital for highlighting the problem, and encouraging people to take action”.

She said: “I fully support The Evening Telegraph’s campaign, and praise the good work it is doing to tackle anti-social behaviour.

“It is fulfilling the role of a paper at the heart of its community, by reflecting and campaigning for issues which affect its readers’ daily lives.”

The newspaper has been calling on readers to blow the whistle on trouble makers and report information to the paper that the police wouldn’t normally get to hear about.

It is also asking readers to sign an online petition, and has received a huge postbag on the subject.

Evening Telegraph editor Kevin Booth said: “It’s helpful that Hazel Blears has recognised the campaign in this way.

“Tackling yobbish behaviour is not a battle for the police alone.

“All areas of the community need to be involved, including the general public, which is why we launched our campaign in the first place.”