Car meets: The hobby that petrolheads love but locals loathe

In a leafy suburb of south-east London, locals hope a simple solution is in sight to shut down noisy, dangerous, car racing that has blighted their lives for years.

After a campaign, a night-time barrier is to be installed at an Elmers End supermarket car park that sometimes becomes a race track by night.

But it's feared this will simply move the problem elsewhere, as authorities across the capital grapple over how to control this type of activity.

The sounds of roaring engines, screeching tyres and cracking exhaust pipes are often heard tearing through streets surrounding the Croydon Road Tesco store, as car lovers meet there to show off their wheels.

These so-called "car meets" usually result in forms of dangerous illegal driving such as stunts and speed trials, and often spill out on to surrounding roads, locals say.

Local resident Sharmone was shocked to find one such meeting in full swing as he passed the store one night recently.

"I suddenly could hear a loud screeching noise. There was also a very awful burning smell," he said.

"It was about 2am and what I saw was pure chaos, smoke everywhere, people filming on their phones. You wouldn't think this was a supermarket car park."

'Lives at risk'

Sharmone sent the BBC footage he filmed of drivers appearing to perform "drifting" tricks while nearly driving into crowds of spectators.

Another resident told the BBC the noise kept her awake most Saturday nights.

"This has been going on for years but seems to have intensified over the past year at least.

"I've lived in Elmers End for 19 years. It used to be a safe, peaceful, pleasant area. I certainly don't feel safe at night any longer and neither does my family.

"This antisocial behaviour needs to be stopped."

She added that participants in the meetings would drive at "full speed down Croydon Road, putting lives at risk".

Putting a stop to illegal racing

Residents here say they have had to put up with this for years, because, they say, no action has been taken to put a permanent end to it.

At times, meetings have been shut down by police, although some people say action has been slow.

The Metropolitan Police has said it has worked with Tesco on plans to introduce a vehicle barrier at the car park at night.

This is due to be installed over the coming days.

A Tesco spokesperson said: "We take reports of antisocial behaviour in our car parks very seriously and have been working to prevent incidents involving groups of motorists."

Bromley Council said it had no enforcement powers for the site as it was privately owned by Tesco.

Locals hope the barrier will be a long-term solution.

But car enthusiast, Gemma, believes it may drive the problem to another neighbourhood.

"I go to some car meets with my brother. We love cars. When we arrive at a meet it is shut down. So we try and see if there is somewhere else we can go to."

The Met Police seized supercars worth more than £6m in a crackdown on illegal racing in central London

This type of unauthorised event and antisocial driving is an issue authorities across London - and England - are trying to control.

They typically take place in large car parks at supermarkets, retail parks or industrial estates.

Owners of powerful or modified cars often compete in front of crowds of hundreds of spectators.

The Met said it had increased efforts to crack down on antisocial driving in parts of the capital.

More than 60 luxury vehicles were seized in Westminster recently following complaints about illegal street racing, the force said.

In Enfield, north London, the Met sought a court injunction to ban car meetings, following many years of illegal activity at spots along the A10.

A Met spokesperson said: "Anti-social behaviour can have significant impact on quality of life and we don't underestimate the effect this activity has on residents living nearby."

Local authorities are also trying to tackle it.

Westminster City Council and HIllingdon Council are among those that have used legal powers to ban car meetings from parts of the boroughs.

Car enthusiast Jamie said meetings do not always involve racing

However, while antisocial and dangerous driving is usually against the law, casual gatherings of car fans are not necessarily illegal.

Motoring enthusiast and Tik Tokker Jamie, 24, says many car lovers like him are simply pursuing an interest.

Meetings he attends in London do not involve antisocial driving, he says.

"People who want to race should be using proper racetracks... we've all seen people doing stupid things on social media, but not all of us are like that.

"We meet up, show off our cars and talk about what we can do with them," Jamie says.

He adds: "It's just a hobby."

"It feels like the community is getting punished for the bad behaviour of a few."

Philip McGovern, whose firm Caffeine & Machine was set up to host official meetings of "petrolheads," believes car lovers unfairly have a reputation.

As he set up his business at three sites in England, locals tried to block his plans because they disliked cars, he said.

London's car community faces similar disapproval, he says.

"There is a buoyant car culture in London - a street culture, a classic culture, a super car, hyper car culture, it's all there... I just think the concept of the automotive is considered dirty."

Mr McGovern said many car enthusiasts feel they need more accessible spaces to use as an alternative to expensive race circuits.

"In the past there was more available land for car enthusiasts to meet. Some testing out their latest car and they were out of the way of people.

"I don't think this is about less car meets in London, I think this is about how people can use their cars... the challenge, as it always has been, is one of social governance."