It’s dangerous…
It’s illegal…
And it causes a major headache for areas all over Wigan Borough.
We’re talking about off-road and anti-social motor vehicle use and in our borough it can be a real menace.
But now community safety chiefs have got the illegal off-roaders and nuisance riders in their sights as part of a major campaign to end the cycle of misery they cause.
It’s called TARGET – Take Action Report it GET it sorted – and council and police chiefs want the public to play an important part in its success.
Wigan Council Neighbourhood’s Officer John Higson explains:
“Each year as the weather improves communities across our borough are plagued by people thoughtlessly riding motorbikes, quad bikes and even 4x4 cars across open public land.
“It’s against the law to do this anywhere in our borough. It also causes untold damage to our natural environment and has even resulted in a number of deaths.
“The people who live in the communities close to areas popular with off-roaders and other nuisance motor vehicle users know how much of a nuisance it can be, so we all need to work together to stop them.”
In one summer alone police in Wigan issued 28 summonses, 62 fines and seized 47 motorcycles that were being used illegally. A further 149 people received warnings and if they are caught again there bikes could be taking a one-way trip to the crusher.
To illustrate this, the partners will be taking their show on the road next month to show everyone exactly what can happen to your precious motor if you’re caught using it in a dangerous, illegal or anti-social way.
A trailer loaded with bikes that have been crushed after being seized on open land in the borough will be making stops at some high-profile locations across Wigan.
Community safety and police officers will also be on hand to hand out information and advice to the public on what they can do to help.
The trailer will be at the following locations on the following dates and times:
- Saturday May 2
- 9am - Morrison’s supermarket, Makerfield Way, Ince
- Noon – JJB Stadium, car park 4 (for the Wigan v Bolton game)
- Saturday May 16
- 9am – Tesco, Hindley
- 11am – Sainsburys, Leigh
- 1pm – Focus DIY, Atherton
Council teams will also be leafleting homes in affected areas urging them to support the campaign as well as putting up warning notices on areas of open land.
Inspector Phillip Bromley from GMP's Road Policing Unit at Leigh, which is responsible for roads policing in Leigh and Wigan says;
"The nuisance and danger caused by off road machines affects peoples quality of life. I and my officers, in partnership with the local policing teams and Wigan Council are determined to catch those responsible. When we have sufficient evidence the offenders will be prosecuted and vehicles will be seized. We need the community to keep passing us the information about when and where this is taking place, and who is responsible, we can then focus our resources.
Often we find it is parents who are responsible for purchasing these machines for their children to use. I would asking any parent who is considering such a purchase, or who has purchased a machine to make sure that it is being used legally otherwise they may find a police officer turning up at their front door with their child and see the machine being taken away to the crusher."
The information gathered by police and community safety teams will be used to build up evidence about ‘hotspot’ areas for off-road and anti-social motor vehicle use in the borough.
And when the time is right, action will be taken – sometimes with crushing results!
- You can report any off-road incident to Greater Manchester Police in confidence on 0161 872 5050. Ideally the information they would need is: where it is happening, a description of the people involved, and a description of the vehicles involved (make, model, colour and registration).
