Street race drivers 'will be jailed' for Black Country ban breaches

Car cruisers breaking an injunction to take part in street racing will be jailed, say police and councillors.

Last month, two men were jailed for breaching the injunction which has banned street racing across the Black Country since the end of 2014.

Wolverhampton city councillor Sandra Samuels said lives were at risk and drivers needed to be accountable.

"If it means sending these individuals to prison then we will do so," she said.

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Councillor Sandra Samuels said car cruisers risked people's lives

Central Motorway Police, who patrol motorways across the region, said they had seized 20 vehicles and reported 50 drivers as part of the crackdown on illegal street racing.

Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall councils, working with West Midlands Police, secured the three-year injunction in December 2014.

The councils said there were a number of "hot spots" for car cruising - where drivers meet to race or "show off in their cars" - turning local roads into a race track.

The problem areas have included the Black Country Route in Bilston, Bean Road Industrial Estate, Tipton, as well as on Birmingham New Road.

Police said they and the councils had received "hundreds of complaints" over the past few years about the gatherings which attract spectators and up to 250 vehicles.