Off-road bikers 'terrorising' neighbourhood

Residents have vented anger at the ongoing issue of nuisance bike riders around Crankwood Road, Abram, particularly on the site of the former colliery.

Other news: Drivers do not think police will enforce road laws, survey findsAnn Whittaker described recent incidents involving quad bikes and motorcycles, many of which could be being driven illegally.

“The situation is escalating again. It gets worse every week and especially at weekends,” she said.

Claims were also made of vans full of bikes being driven into the area and off-loaded to cause havoc and grief for the surrounding homeowners.

“They arrived in several vans and lorries with two cars towing trailers with bikes on the back and a few ordinary cars with them carrying extra riders,” she added

“They stayed here all day, constantly riding on and off the site with vans coming and going with more bikes.

“On the Friday night, three white vans turned up. The ramps came down and quad bikes came out of the back.

“They all went on to the site and then an hour later, three 4x4s came and went on to the site as well. In the early hours of the morning these vehicles then left the site which woke me up and kept me awake for some time.

“The previous weekend we had nine bikes riding up and down the road pulling wheelies in front of the houses and literally just terrorising anybody that was walking up and down the street.

“The mess and the noise that these bikers are creating is just becoming intolerable and although my husband has wrote to the local MP and the council and been in contact with the GMP we just don’t seem to be getting any results.

“It’s just like these bikers are allowed to ride up and down the road doing whatever they want.”

The resident finished by stating that it was “unfair” that these riders were getting away with riding these vehicles in a dangerous manner without punishment.

“It seems very unfair when we are law abiding, paying road tax and car insurance, to have these people behaving like this. They can be quite intimidating and frightening as well if approached.”

Insp Andy Smith from Greater Manchester Police said: “The illegal use of off-road bikes is a priority for us across Greater Manchester and we have had reports from residents expressing concern in Abram.

“These types of offences are not only dangerous for riders and other people around them, they can also cause real upset and worry for residents.

“We already have a Forcewide team that supports neighbourhood officers in stopping people committing offences and we have also introduced a toolkit to help us work with communities to gather information, get a real picture of what is happening in our areas and point people towards the organisation best placed to help them.

“Moving forward in Abram, our Local Policing Team will be using the Safer Roads Targeting Team to bring offenders to justice and will focus patrols on hotspot areas at peak times.

“We will also work with residents and partners to gather information on persistent offenders so that we have a clear picture of what is happening.

“We are absolutely committed to tackling the very real danger that off-road bikes pose through being used illegally and would like to thank members of the community who have already come forward.

“Anyone else with concerns should take a look at the toolkit on our website at www.gmp.police.uk/offroadbikes and call us if it is a police matter.

“This can be done by calling 101 or 999 if there is an immediate threat to life or property.”