Cops clamp down on yob drivers
A NUMBER of car owners in Carmarthen have been ordered to take them for MOTS after police clamped down on anti-social driving and noisy vehicles.
Residents in certain areas of the town have long complained about excessive noise coming from cars which congregate in some car parks.
The Pensarn area seems to be a main point of concern, with drivers known to meet at two different locations. A retail car park off Pensarn Road, which is home to a number of stores including Matalan and Sports Direct, has been complained about in the past, and last week police took action in another car park nearby which is the location of businesses such as KFC and Dunelm.
On the night of Sunday, February 6, Dyfed-powys Police officers from Carmarthen’s neighbourhood policing team (NPT) and roads policing unit (RPU), together with officers from the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency, visited the car park in what was described as a “multi-agency operation”.
The operation set out to specifically target what police have called the “anti-social use of vehicles”, which was “causing distress and upset to local residents”.
Twenty prohibition notices were handed out to drivers in total, relating to issues found on 10 vehicles. They included two immediate prohibitions, 14 delayed prohibitions and four inspection notices.
Some of the issues discovered included noisy and modified exhaust systems, defective power steering, defective indicators, and inoperative headlights and reverse lamps.
Seven of the vehicles were found to have issues with their exhausts, while inspection notices were also handed out to drivers due to concerns regarding their vehicles’ tyres.
As a result, all of the vehicles will have to pass a new MOT in order for the prohibitions to be removed. For those issued with immediate prohibitions, their vehicle cannot even be moved until the fault is corrected.
Meanwhile, those given one of the 14 delayed prohibitions handed out have 10 days to rectify the issues.
Local resident and councillor Elwyn Williams said the issue had been going on for some time, and hoped that police would continue to crack down on anti-social driving.
“Historically, Dyfed-powys Police policy towards ‘petrol-heads’ has always been firm and fair, and I commended them for it,” said Mr Williams, who is the county councillor for the Llangunnor ward, which includes Pensarn, and chair of Llangunnor Community Council.
“Unfortunately, during the early part of Covid, the NPT had an attitude of ‘boys will be boys’, and it was a council problem when it occurred in another part of Llangunnor. I am glad and appreciate the change of tactic, back to what it was pre-covid.”
Sergeant Elaine Roberts, of Dyfedpowys Police, said: “This is an excellent example of both collaboration and of a disruption initiative.
“Our NPT and RPU continue to problem-solve this matter, thus providing reassurance to our communities that local police teams listen to and understand community problems, targeting their activities to alleviate such concerns.”