Fears over influx of car cruisers after court bans

PC Sean Maddocks said they were seeing some large gatherings in parts of Shropshire

There are fears from police that car cruising events or street racing could be moving to Shropshire from other parts of the West Midlands due to injunctions banning them in those places.

There are currently no court orders prohibiting them in the Telford and Wrekin area and some drivers are using the M54 to travel to Shropshire to meet up, PC Sean Maddocks, from West Mercia Police, said.

Councils in the Black Country and Staffordshire have brought in injunctions in their areas after complaints about street racing.

PC Maddocks said, while some drivers respected local residents, others could be anti-social in their behaviour.

"There are lots of noises which are coming from these meets and they all like to show off their vehicles. They are revving their engines and popping their exhausts," he added.

One resident told the BBC that the sound from some gatherings could "literally shake the house".

Councillor Ian Preece said there were reports of anti-social behaviour from the meetings in his area

Car cruising sees owners showing off their modified cars to fans and can include vehicles driven in convoy, speeding, racing and the revving of engines.

Horsehay in Telford is one area which has seen regular meets on Sunday nights and councillor Ian Preece said they were seeing "serious issues" around speeding and noise.

"Unfortunately, we are getting quite a lot of cars turning up, revving their engines and absolutely pelting it down the road," he added.

"These exhausts are really loud, it sounds like a gun is going off."

Nick lives in Horsehay and said, at times, they have seen up to 20 cars parked in front of their house and using their driveway to turn round in.

"Most of the people in these cars are young kids. So you haven't just got the cars with the modified exhausts making the popping noises, you have also got young girls running up to see their mates," he added.

In Staffordshire, one council installed warning signs on the A449 Stafford Road warning motorists against antisocial driving

Nick said the cars usually started gathering at times between 1830 and 2130 "as you're sitting down to watch the TV".

"Then all of a sudden these modified exhaust and car noises and racing starts and it literally shakes the house," he said.

"We have dogs and they start going crazy. They're not here for long, at most 10 minutes as they are queuing up, ready to get into their racing positions.

PC Maddocks said there have been several organised gatherings recently, on retail parks areas and industrial estates.

"Halesfield, Stafford Park and also Hortonwood have experienced an increase in vehicles, sometimes up to 80 cars have been meeting," he explained.

"We have found that many of these meets are very peaceful, but then we're also getting groups of vehicles that are coming into the county - unfortunately speeding and driving anti-socially."

One resident said he was worried there could be serious issues if the cars were raced

Nick said he was worried the gatherings could lead to serious injury or worse

"If you want to race cars, go where it isn't a residential area and certainly not on a national speed limit road," he said.

"It is not just the noise, something bad will happen soon, it's only a matter of time before there's an accident and someone is killed."

PC Maddocks said Telford and Wrekin Council had been recording evidence and had funding for about 10 cameras which were used in hot spots.

"These locations have led to around 10 Community Protection Notices being issued to drivers," he added.

"We are looking to combat this issue and we are taking very seriously, it won't be tolerated by us."

Councillor Richard Overton, deputy leader of Telford and Wrekin Council, said they were supporting the police over any anti-social behaviour from such meetings.

"CCTV has played a key role in helping to reduce these incidents, providing valuable intelligence to identify vehicles involved. Our teams have also actively supported several targeted police operations to address this behaviour," he said.

"The mobile CCTV unit is regularly deployed, enhancing surveillance and serving as a highly visible deterrent to those considering taking part in car cruises. "