A war against graffiti and yob-culture is to be launched by ministers within weeks.

The prime minister trailed a crackdown on anti-social behaviour as the big "idea" behind the new legislative agenda.

Tony Blair believes that action on a range of sub-criminal activity - graffiti, litter, fly-tipping and so-called "yob culture" - are key vote winners.

"Crime and anti-social behaviour is a Labour issue. In many of the poorest parts of Britain, in many traditional Labour areas, it is the issue," he said.

"However much schools and hospitals improve, if people walk out of their doors and are confronted by abuse, vandalism, anti-social behaviour, they will never feel secure or able to take advantage of new opportunities."

Boosted by the success of on-the-spot fines for street drunkenness, the government is to extend fixed penalties to a range of misdemeanours - from dropping chewing gum to nuisance noise.

But critics have pointed out that extra resources will be needed if the new laws are to be backed up with action.

Harry Fletcher of probation union, Napo, said enforcing the swathe of new offences and fines would require tens of thousands of extra wardens.

Implementing them would therefore be too costly and lead to the whole fine structure being ignored and undermined, he said.

Penny Dean of the Children's Society expressed concern that the government was focussing on the punishment of children "without addressing the wider issues".

But the Home Office said that ministers, working with the police, local authorities and other agencies, needs "to do more".

"The government will be publishing both a strategy to combat anti-social behaviour and a green paper on dealing with the problems of children at risk," said David Blunkett's department.

The Anti-Social Behaviour Bill will introduce measures including:

• Making it easier to evict anti-social tenants.

• Extending the application of fixed penalty notices and increasing the number of people who can enforce them.

• Continuing to improve implementation of anti-social behaviour orders through the courts.

• Measures to clear up the environment. Following the consultation on public spaces by introducing measures to tackle graffiti, use of spray paints, and fly-tipping.

• Measures to combat anti-social behaviour by young people including the dangerous use of airguns, fireworks and other anti-social behaviour that damages communities.