Up to a million teenagers in Britain have nothing to do in the evenings but hang out on street corners, according to new research that will fuel fresh debate over the causes of antisocial behaviour.

A modern youth club in every town, providing teenagers with somewhere safe and appealing to go, could slash the costs of youth crime and ease growing tensions between young people and those intimidated by them, according to evidence submitted by the charity 4Children to a forthcoming government green paper on teenagers.