Bikers warned of seizures in anti-social riding crackdown

Residents in Airedale and North Bradford are being urged to get in touch if they have any information about illegal riders, after police stepped up efforts to tackle the issue across the area in recent weeks.

In the latest action, officers from the North Bradford Neighbourhood Policing Team recovered a quad bike from a youth in Allerton at the end of January after it was spotted outside a pub.

The bike had been reported as causing a nuisance in the area and was seized after officers confirmed it was not insured for use.

The seizure followed an earlier operation in the Eccleshill operation on January 23 in which officers spotted three men loading motorbikes suspected of being used anti-socially in the Swain House area.

All three were given anti-social behaviour warnings for the use of their vehicles, which means they can now be seized by police if they are again spotted causing a nuisance with the machines.

The activity in North Bradford and Eccleshill follows an information campaign in Keighley which has seen Keighley Neighbourhood Policing Team officers join forces with local scouts to spread the word about how residents can report anti-social riding.

Insp Peter Tuff of the Eccleshill Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT), said: “As the weather has recently turned much milder we are again seeing nuisance and anti-social riding on our roads and open spaces and are asking residents to get in touch with their local NPT if they have information about those responsible.

“We often find these machines are uninsured, ridden dangerously and quite often not fit for use, so it is important we take action to get them off our roads.

“Anyone tempted to ride illegally should be warned that they could by left both without their bikes and also left out of pocket.”

Sgt Dave Williams of the North Bradford Neighbourhood Policing Team, said his team hoped the latest seizure of the quad bike would benefit the area.

“The quad was seized under the no insurance scheme and had been reported as causing a nuisance in the local area over recent weeks.”