A former teen terror who was the youngest child to be slapped with an ASBO has admitted he 'deserved harsher punishment'.
Danny Oakley became infamous in 2006 when, at the age of just 10, he was handed the criminal order alongside equally unruly brother Ricky.
The loutish Wolverhampton pair – nicknamed "Asbros" – became a thorn in the side of neighbours and local police as they notched up 40 arrests for crimes including burglaries, knife crime, arson and slashing people's tyres.
Ricky and Danny's exploits were even featured on Channel 5's Running Riot back in 2014 as it was revealed they were still getting into trouble.
But now a grown man, Mr Oakley has admitted that the level of notoriety the ASBO label brought him only fuelled his offending.
Now 29, the former child offender has since come out as gay and admits his feelings of having to suppress his sexuality played a part in his offending.
He's admitted the court order served no purpose other than "a badge of honour" which only fed his appalling behaviour, and says he should have gone to jail instead.
"What did an ASBO get me other than notoriety?" Danny told The Sun.
"It’s just a badge of honour and gets you even more into the criminal mindset – thinking, 'I’m the man of the area'.
"But instead, the harsher the punishment, the less likely you'll keep at it.
"I think it was prison instead that learnt me a lesson in life - even if it is a very fine line, as people can become institutionalised."
Mr Oakley's candour comes amidst promises from Sir Keir Starmer that Labour would crack down on anti-social behaviour and look to bring the orders back.
ASBOs - or anti-social behaviour orders - were introduced under Tony Blair's government to deter offenders wreaking misery on communities.
The orders were scrapped and replaced with Criminal Behaviour Orders in 2014 after criticism they were too costly and did little to prevent crime.
But Mr Oakley scoffed at the idea of their return, saying, "if you’ve already terrorised 70 of your neighbours, what deterrent is that?"
More than a third (37%) of adult Brits said they'd experienced anti-social behaviour such as vandalism and threats last year, according the Crime Survey for England and Wales data - the highest level in six years.
A YouGov poll meanwhile has showed one in seven Brits have considered moving because of yobs in their area, while more than half (51%) of victims said they don't even report it because they think nothing will be done.
"They’ll just go into the next street," Danny added. "That’s how good areas become bad.
"When I was a kid we did have youth clubs, more policing – but now there’s nothing for people to do.
"The system is so tightly-squeezed. I can understand why young people turn to crime."
Despite appearing in the dock as recently as earlier this month for assaulting a prison officer in a hospital, Mr Oakley claims he has since turned his back on crime and has gotten himself a qualification in business studies.
He hopes his experience as a tearaway will encourage other young people currently embroiled in crime.
"Twenty years on. I can help other people now at least – I want to give something back to the community.
"I’m infamous – I’m well-known for very negative stories. I want to become well-known for positive stories."
