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A TEENAGER and his mum are facing eviction from their family home after he was allegedly caught looting during the riots.

In a landmark case, the 18-year-old and his mum could lose their council-owned flat as authorities get tough after the days of violence.

The eviction notice has been served even before the legal case has been concluded as the council wants swift retribution.

Councils in other riot-hit areas are monitoring the possible eviction which has been backed by David Cameron. He said: “Let’s make sure if people riot and break the law they get thrown out of their council house.

“It’s time to get tough on these things in our country and actually to be a little less tolerant of people who are behaving in such an appalling way.” He added: “For too long we’ve taken a too-soft attitude towards people that loot and pillage their own community.

“If you do that you should lose your right to the sort of housing that you’ve had at subsidised rates.

“That will mean they’ve got to be housed somewhere else. They’ll have to find housing in the private sector and that will be tougher for them.

“But they should have thought of that before they started burgling.”

The teenager who faces possible eviction lives in Battersea, South-West London, and has appeared in court charged with violent disorder and attempted burglary during the riot near Clapham Junction train station on Monday.

It is alleged he tried to steal electronic goods from a Currys store.

Wandsworth council will attempt to kick the family out of their two-bedroom home if he is guilty. Councillor Ravi Govindia, who is the leader of the Tory-controlled authority, welcomed the swift action by the housing department and said it would not shy from pursuing more evictions. He said: “When you move into council property, you agree to comply with tenancy conditions. If you break those you risk losing your home.

“We are determined to take the strongest possible action against any tenant or member of their household responsible for the truly shocking behaviour perpetrated on homes and businesses this week. This council will do its utmost to ensure those who are responsible pay a proper price for their conduct. Ultimately, this could mean eviction.

“Most residents on our housing estates are decent law-abiding citizens who will have been sickened at what they witnessed on their TVs this week. Many will have seen their places of work trashed at the hands of these rioters.

“As much as anything else we owe it to them to send out a strong signal that this kind of violence will not be tolerated.”

A council spokesman said legal constraints prevented it from naming the mum, who is the tenant, and her son.

The authority added that its tenancy agreement states that all tenants – as well as anyone who lives with them or visits – are forbidden from a range of criminal and antisocial activities. Serving the notice is the first stage in the legal process of eviction.

The final decision will rest with a judge sitting at a county court.

A council insider said bosses had served the notice because, “We wanted to get the ball rolling quickly so if he is found guilty, then we are in a position to complete the civil case against him.”

Other local authorities which say they want to evict tenants convicted of violence include Labour-run Nottingham, Manchester, Salford, and Greenwich, as well as Tory-controlled Westminster, and Hammersmith and Fulham.

Nottingham council leader Jon Collins said the authority would try to evict anyone directly involved or whose children had taken part in disturbances.

He warned: “Parents have a responsibility to control the young people living in their home.

“If young people living in your home have been involved in the violence over the past few days, they are putting your tenancy at risk.”

Fears remain that evicting council tenants is likely to mean that they will simply move to another area and join the housing list there.

Speaking on a visit to riot-hit Manchester and Salford, Mr Cameron was also furious yesterday about a foul-mouthed mum and son. The 12-year-old boy had admitted at Manchester magistrates’ court to stealing a bottle of wine.

After the hearing, the boy and his mum swore at reporters outside court.

Mr Cameron said: “My reaction to what I’ve just seen, like the rest of the country, is appalled that parents can behave in that way and frankly when parents behave like that they should be subject to a parenting order. They should be fined for their children’s behaviour, they should be held to account.

“This is not something that’s going to be done easily, we are going to have to rebuild parts of society, brick by brick.”

The Prime Minister said the welfare system and school discipline had a role to play in raising standards.

He added: “We need discipline and I think the first place it has to happen is at home but also in the school and we’ve got to make sure teachers and not pupils feel they are in charge of the classroom.”