Car cruising banned in Stevenage for an extra five years following crash

Police, fire and ambulance services attended the crash at Monkswood Way in the Hertfordshire town on 19 July 2019

An injunction banning car cruise events in a town where 17 spectators were injured in a collision has been extended for five more years.

Stevenage Borough Council was first granted an injunction in 2019 after the crash on Monkswood Way in July.

The ban was extended for a further two years in 2020 and the authority was hoping to get the events banned permanently.

It said it was "quite pleased" with the latest extension.

Labour council leader, Richard Henry, said: "It gives all the organisations, including the police, the time to look into this to make it more permanent.

"[It comes] with a power of arrest so [for] anybody setting up any of these events, we can step in immediately with the police to get these people taken away."

Anyone who flouts the injunction can be arrested including drivers, passengers and spectator.

It also bans people from organising or publicising car cruises.

'Bad People'

Mr Henry added: "The bad people do ruin it for the people who appreciate some cars that have been fantastically altered and vintage cars but driving excessively dangerously, endangering the health and well-being of the lives of other people is what, unfortunately, some of these people do.

"Performing stunts on our roads which is dangerous for both themselves and the visitors who are just admiring the event so, unfortunately because of the way these events are organised, it's not possible to regulate them [in another way]."

Dominic Brown, from St Albans, and Julian Castano Perez, from Dunmow in Essex, were jailed following the crash on 18 July, 2019.

Both pleaded guilty to eight charges of causing serious injury by dangerous driving and 11 of causing bodily harm by wanton and furious driving.

Sentencing the pair, Judge Michael Kay said they had shown an "idiotic desire to show off".

He said car cruise events should be banned to avoid "more scenes of carnage" otherwise there is a risk "people will die and be injured".

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