Police bikers on off-road patrols
Two motorbikes were seized when off-road police motorcyclists spent a day tackling nuisance riders in the Newark area.
The off-road bikes were seized as part of Nottinghamshire Police’s Operation Rustproof to crackdown on motorbikes being ridden illegally.
One was seized near the British Gypsum site off Bowbridge Lane, Newark, and another off Hawton Lane, Balderton. Both bikes will be crushed.
A warning notice for anti-social behaviour on an off-road motorbike was also issued to a rider off Bowbridge Lane.
Three members of B Division’s off-road team, Sergeant John Madin, Pc Paul Pilsworth and Newark town centre beat manager Pc Martin Drew, visited other potential trouble spots during an eight-hour shift on Saturday.
They attended a report of an off-road quad bike nuisance on Bowbridge Road, Newark, and patrolled Girton and Besthorpe quarries, the area around Clay Lane, Newark, and the Yorke Drive area.
The team, which consists of six officers and three bikes, began in October 2007 when a £10,000 grant was given by Nottinghamshire county councillor Mr Glynn Gilfoyle to pay for two Yamaha WR250R off-road motorbikes.
Another bike has since been bought and the team wants a fourth.
That would allow one patrol to be based in Newark and one in Retford.
Currently the motorcycles are kept at Retford so team members from Newark have to spend part of their shift travelling to pick them up.
Normally the team operates in pairs, but rode as a trio on Saturday as it was Pc Drew’s first patrol.
All the officers are keen bikers and give up rest days to carry out off-road patrols.
Sergeant Madin said they received positive comments from local communities.
In the last four months the team has arrested four people for stealing motorbikes, issued four warnings about riding without insurance or a licence, warned 24 people about anti-social behaviour with motorbikes, summoned one person to court for driving offences and issued 13 cautions for various other driving offences.
Sergeant Madin said: “We’re here to educate people and our utmost priority is safety.”
He said they hoped to be out most weekends in the Newark area and two or three times a week during the school holidays.
