Local authorities will have powers to seek the closure of alleyways in 52 areas where they facilitate crimes such as robbery, burglary, arson and drug dealing, under plans announced by the government.

Fifteen councils applied for the powers in 78 areas - supported by evidence from police and community groups -and 52 have been approved.

Evidence shows that the alleyways no longer serve the purposes for which they were designed many decades ago, such as providing an access point for people collecting ash.

Stringent criteria will have to be met to close a right of way. Local authorities will have to provide strong evidence that real problems exist in these areas and that other means of crime prevention have failed.

Local authorities will be required to invite objections to every proposal to divert or close a right of way and take those objections into account.

Local Environmental Quality Minister Alun Michael said: "For many people living in areas blighted by crime and vandalism, this is very good news.”

“These alleyways have often given burglars easy access to the back of houses, or have provided an easy escape from police. In other places they have become sheltered havens for drug dealers, or have been soft targets for vandals."

In a separate anti-crime move the government has allocated £1.5m of confiscated criminal assets to community groups to tackle gun crime in England's eight worst affected regions.

The Home Office will award £300,000 of this funding to an independent charity called the Disarm Trust, to help it support regional and community anti-gun initiatives. The resources will also develop partnerships among local groups to fight gun culture at a grass roots level.

Home Office Minister Caroline Flint said that efforts are being targeted where they are needed most. Seventy five per cent of all gun crime in England and Wales takes place in and around the cities of London, Manchester, Birmingham, Bristol, Liverpool and Nottingham.

"People living and working in these communities have a vital role in fighting a culture of violence, and we will work with them and support them in that," she said.