Merseyside Police has arrested 16 people and recovered 28 off-road bikes during an operation today, Thursday, 26 March, to clampdown on the dangerous and anti-social use of off-road bikes across Merseyside.
Officers executed warrants early this morning at 14 addresses in Liverpool, Knowsley and Sefton and one in Greater Manchester. Two storage facilities have also been searched.
All the bikes recovered by officers are either believed to have been stolen or used in a dangerous or anti-social way on the streets of Merseyside.
Searches are on-going at a number of properties.
Chief Superintendent Jonathan Roy said: “Today’s action is all about responding to the concerns of communities across Merseyside and targeting those people who we believe have been using scrambler bikes in a dangerous or anti-social way.
“We know that many people are plagued by the problem of off road vehcicles and actually find them incredibly intimidating. When they are ridden dangerously, they pose a huge risk, not only to the safety of the rider, but also to pedestrians and other law abiding road users.
“To highlight the dangers, we are issuing CCTV which shows a teenage boy riding a quadbike the wrong way into oncoming traffic through Liverpool city centre. Following the incident he was arrested and subsequently pleaded guilty to various offences, resulting in him being disqualified from driving for 12 months and made the subject of a youth rehabilitation order and a curfew.
“He is, though, lucky to be alive and the case clearly highlights the risks for the entire community when off road bikes are ridden in this way.”
Chief Superintendent Roy added: “The pro-active action that we have taken today has resulted in a number of bikes being taken off the road and I want to reassure people that our clampdown will continue across the coming weeks and months.
“We know that there are still scramblers, quads and other vehicles out there which are being ridden dangerously or anti-socially and I hope today shows that when we have information, we will act on it to tackle the problem.
“I would appeal to people across Merseyside to carry on calling us if they know where nuisance bikes are being stored or they have information about the people who are using them.”
Merseyside’s Police Commissioner Jane Kennedy said: “Residents, farmers and businesses have raised with me many times their concerns about the illegal and anti-social use of scrambler and quad bikes.
“These nuisance bikes can blight communities and present a real danger to members of the public. Sadly, we have recently seen the devastating consequences of using these bikes.
“I welcome this crackdown by Merseyside Police. It demonstrates their commitment to taking action, removing these vehicles from our roads and footpaths and tackling this problem.”
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