Police clamp down on nuisance riders

Northumbria Police are cracking down on off-road motorcycles and quads after residents reported incidents of anti-social behaviour with bikes being ‘ridden in a disorderly manner.’

The Force has set out to tackle nuisance off-road motorcycles and quads riders across the

North East following reports from communities

“that they are loud, driven dangerously and are linked to anti-social behaviour”.

Officers in the Ryhope, Grangetown and Silksworth areas of Sunderland have been armed with a long-lens camera to take pictures in a bid to target and identify riders.

A clampdown by Wearside officers resulted in a 25-year-old man being summonsed to court for driving without insurance and dedicated patrols have also been set up in Ashington, Blyth and South Shields to reduce the number of incidents.

Officers say they have seized hundreds of motorcycles with some drivers being prosecuted for a string of driving offences as part of the project but police are now asking residents to help identify riders.

Northumbria Police said: “Despite all that work, and all of the calls from the community, we get very little information from the public on the actual identity of these riders. Residents in our communities will know who these people are, or you will see them returning home with an off-road bike or quad. We need you to report the names of riders, so we can take action and make your community a safer place to live.”