ONE of the youngest members of the Basingstoke Street Gang has been locked up after breaching an injunction order four times in one month.

The 16-year-old from Beggarwood, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was one of ten male teenagers banned from socialising at a court hearing in March after police raised concerns about criminal activity linked to the group.

As previously reported, the youngster breached the court order twice within days and was given a three-month supervision order, meaning he had to regularly meet the police's youth offending team.

Now, the boy has appeared again before Basingstoke Magistrates' Court, accused of two further breaches.

On April 8, he travelled to Winchester and met several fellow gang members. Police were called over suspected criminal activity.

Poonam Pattni, representing Hampshire Constabulary, said: "The group are on CCTV walking in the same direction, talking to one another, with no apparent attempt to distance themselves from each other."

Then on Sunday, April 18, the boy met with another member at Festival Place.

Ms Pattni added: "The police's concern is that there seems to be consistent reoffending, and the order does not seem to be working."

Defending the boy, Justin Rivett said his client had been "persuaded by others" to attend the group meet-up in Winchester, and that the second breach had been a "chance meeting", in which his client did not initially realise that the person was included in the list of banned associates.

Mr Rivett admitted that the teenager's actions were "ill-advised and foolish", but added: "He is one of the youngest of the group and perhaps more susceptible to the persuasion and encouragement that occurred."

He suggested it was "perhaps almost inevitable" that the boys' paths would cross as they all live in Basingstoke.

District judge Tim Pattinson disagreed, saying: "To be quite blunt, I cannot believe he is under any illusion. The solution is very easy. If you see somebody with whom you are not supposed to associate, you walk away. It could not be more clear."

Addressing the teenager, the judge added: "There is no getting away from the fact that these are the third and fourth breaches. The consequence of this is no other power is appropriate apart from locking you up."

The boy will be detained for 14 days.

"Any further breach and you have got to come before me again and we will be looking at something towards the three-month maximum," Judge Pattinson said.