The 15-year-old will say a "dispersal zone" in Richmond, London, where police can remove all under-16s from the area after 9pm, infringes his human rights.

The youth, backed by campaign group Liberty, is taking Richmond Council and the Met police to London's High Court.

The police say the powers are only used on troublemakers. The council says the zones do reduce anti-social behaviour.

The right to create dispersal zones was given to police and local authorities by Labour's 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act.

Under-16s can be forcibly returned to their homes by police if they are on the streets unaccompanied by an adult between nine at night and six in the morning.

Liberty's legal director James Welch said the laws attack all children, not just the badly behaved.

"No-one objects to reasonable sanctions for bad behaviour but these powers fail to distinguish between the innocent and the guilty," he said.

'Important contribution'

The teenager, who is known as 'W' for legal reasons, said he had no problem with the police stopping people for bad behaviour.

He added: "But they shouldn't be allowed to treat me like a criminal just because I'm under 16."

Richmond Council, in conjunction with the Met police, has used the measure in three areas - Ham, Twickenham and Richmond centre - since the act came into force.

A council spokesman said the zones had made an "important contribution" to reducing anti-social behaviour in town centres.

"We very much hope the judge will uphold their continued use. This is an important test case which will have repercussions nationwide," he said.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4580305.stm