Calls made for illegal motorbikes racing around Belstead Brook to be confiscated
Scrambler bikes in action at Bobbits Lane in Belstead Brook Park. Picture: CONTRIBUTED - Credit: Archant
People who say they are being “terrorised” by illegal scrambler riding in Suffolk are calling for the bikes to be confiscated.
Residents say the scramblers are in action most days. Picture: CONTRIBUTED - Credit: Archant
Villagers in Wherstead say the problem has become so bad they have considered moving house to get away from the constant noise of bikers racing around Bobbits Lane in Belstead Brook Park.
As reported earlier this week, the area had been a popular with riders for decades until a crackdown by police several years ago. Now residents say the menace has returned worse than ever – and they want action taken.
One of the residents, who has lived in the village 35 years and asked not to be named, said the bikers were a “law unto themselves”. “It’s the noise that really gets to you,” he added. “It gets so bad that you cannot leave your windows open because all you can hear are the bikes.”
“I’m a motorcyclist myself — I love motorcycles – but there’s a time and a place and the only reason they’re going round here is because they don’t need to pay.”
The area includes the Belstead Brook Park. Picture: ARCHANT LIBRARY
Mr Hopkins said he has reported the problem but “nothing ever gets done”. He is calling for the bikes to be confiscated, as they were during the last crackdown, as a deterrent.
His partner added the bikers were “terrorising” the village. “It’s just so constantly irritating that we have looked to move because of it,” she added.
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David Baldry, chairman of Wherstead Parish Council, suggested calling a meeting of interested parties, including police, councils, landowners and the Greenways Countryside Project, to tackle the problem.
Last time such a meeting was held, Mr Baldry said an action plan was put in place, which saw the site cleared of burnt out cars, new gates installed and regular police visits, with riders warned their bikes could be confiscated.
Residents are calling for tougher action on the motorcyclists. Picture: CONTRIBUTED - Credit: Archant
“For a good while after the riders kept away,” he said. “But over the last year they have returned and it has become unbearable for local residents who were unable to sit in their gardens during the summer, at the weekends and some evenings, because of the constant noise of these motorcycle roaring around the unauthorised track.”
Mr Baldry said some of the riders had threatened people after being challenged. He also said there were safety fears for the riders themselves.
Christopher Hudson, who represents Belstead Brook at Suffolk County Council said it was “hell on wheels” for residents.
