Two brothers aged 12 and 15 have been branded "kids from hell" after wreaking havoc on their neighbourhood for years.

Danny and Aaron Wright have been given antisocial behaviour orders banning them from setting foot in a total of 34 roads and setting fire to their own home.

The Echo had hoped to publish pictures of the brothers so members of the public could help police enforce the order.

But Southend Council - which owns the boys' home - refused to authorise their publication in case it infringed Danny and Aaron's human rights.

Neighbours have been complaining to the police about the notorious pair for eight years - when Aaron was seven and Danny was just four.

One neighbour, who wished to remain nameless for fear of reprisals, said: "They are the kids from hell."

Their mother claims the boys are just being singled out because they are so well known in the area.

Dena Lawson, 35, said: "My kids are always picked on around here. I haven't got a clue why. They are well known because we have lived around here a long time.

"They have got to go through some of the roads they've been banned from to get to school. I did bring that up in court.

"Daniel has set a couple of fires, but the fire that they are referring to was me. It had nothing to do with him.

"But they have got to stick to it. It is going to be very difficult. Only time will tell."

The boys live with their mother in a terraced house in Canterbury Avenue, together with an older brother and three younger sisters.

Neighbours said the children's father lived nearby in Longbow flats, in Sherwood Way.

The Asbo was granted by Southend Magistrates' Court by District Judge Kevin Gray, after an application by their mother's landlord, South Essex Homes, which manages Southend Council's housing stock.

Danny and Aaron have also been told to stop entering other people's gardens and garages, hanging around in groups of six or more and acting in a way that causes fear or annoyance.

'Kids from hell' are totally out of control

Neighbours of teenage tearaways Danny and Aaron Wright have spoken about the way the boys turned their homes into a living hell.

Magistrates have imposed Asbos on Danny, 12, and Aaron, 15, banning them from lighting fires at their home in Canterbury Avenue, Southend.

The Asbo also bars them from encouraging anyone else to light a fire at the family home or anywhere else.

In addition, they have been prohibited from a list of 34 streets close their home.

The Southend police record of complaints about the pair dates back to 1999 - when Aaron was seven and Danny just four.

Neighbours in their community are so afraid of the pair that nobody the Echo approached was prepared to give their name.

However, all said the boys had wreaked havoc wherever they went, shouting abuse at neighbours, vandalising property and even setting fire to their own home.

One woman said: "They really are the kids from hell. They break into cars and garages. It is a nightmare."

Another man said the boys had run wild, easily giving their mother, Dena Lawson, the slip and playing hide and seek with police.

He added: "The police cars come round on patrol and they dodge behind the hedges."

But his wife said she felt sorry for the boys, because they had always been allowed to run wild.

She added: "It is a sad little story. They're little buggers, but the awful thing about it is they are allowed to run wild.

"There is no discipline in the home.

"They do what they want, when they want - they take no notice of her at all.

"She tried to tell them off and keep them in, but they just climb out of the windows. I think it is the younger one who's the troublemaker.

"You hear them out on the street at 3 o'clock in the morning. They climb out of the window when mum's gone to bed."

The woman said she had spoken to the boys and their mother a number of times about their behaviour.

She added: "They do respond to kindness and fairness and they can be polite enough. It is actually quite a sad situation."

But a third neighbour said the best way to deal with Danny and Aaron was to avoid any interaction with them whatsoever.

She explained: "They're a lot of trouble. We keep our distance, but they cause havoc round here.

"They do everything. You name it, they do it.

"They interfere with cars and smash up places.

They are one lot of trouble."