Biker gang members who pulled wheelies and dodged vehicles on city centre streets jailed

Shocking video recorded by one of the hooligans shows the rampaging gang popping wheelies, riding on pavements and crossing red lights as shocked pedestrians look on.

The group, which included 11 riders on motorbikes and quad bikes, took to narrow side streets across Leeds during a two-day affair.

At one point, a man even tried to remonstrate with some of its members, only to be rebuffed by the brutes who responded by shouting abuse and kicking out at him.

The unhinged gang was only captured after officers used the bikers' footage, posted on YouTube, to match their clothing and vehicles to possible suspects.

At their sentencing, the six riders were all disqualified from driving for a minimum of 12 months, with one receiving a 35-month jail term.

Chief Inspector Kev Pickles, who heads Neighbourhood Policing for Leeds District, said that the group’s actions were “completely unacceptable”.

He said: “The dangerous and anti-social behaviour of those who took part in these so-called ‘ride outs’ was completely unacceptable.

“We can never allow this kind of illegal activity that impacts on people’s lives to go unchallenged, and we will always look to identify and take robust action against those involved.

The two incidents dated back to Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25, 2018.

Police said that on the Saturday, the group set off on a short journey, beginning in Middleton, and crossing through Beeston and Holbeck.

During that journey, members were seen pulling wheelies in the middle of the road, riding on footpaths, jumping red lights and weaving among traffic.

They were also observed to be deliberately wheel-spinning on grassed areas making mud fly and damaging verges.

The next day, the crew made a much longer trip, where they drove through Wakefield city centre and several small towns, before coming to a stop near Kirkheaton, Huddersfield.

Along the 18-mile journey, which spanned three districts, the riders could be seen driving dangerously and anti-socially through traffic.

This included accelerating in the middle of the road, pulling wheelies, going through red lights and riding on pavements.

Footage from both incidents, which was filmed on a helmet-mounted camera was posted to YouTube under the username Timmy Mallet.

He was subsequently identified as Terrence Barker from Middleton.

Officers then spent hours reviewing the material to pinpoint distinctive items of clothing and vehicle characteristics.

They combined this with their local knowledge of those known to be involved in the anti-social use of motor vehicles to track down the lead culprits.

This led to seven warrants being executed at the suspects’ addresses and at a container yard in Middleton, from where the footage started.

Items of clothing worn in the footage were seized along with a large number of motorbikes and quad bikes, which were stored at the container yard.

At their sentencing, Daniel Brook, 24, from Middleton, received 35 months in jail and 24 month driving ban for his part in the incident as well as drugs offences.

Robert Addinall, 30, from Belle Isle,received a nine-month prison term, which will run alongside another drug related sentence.

Damien Morgan, 28, from Middleton, got an 8-month jail term and was banned from driving for 12 months.

Aiden Bedford, 32, from Middleton, received an 8-month prison sentence and was banned from driving for 14 months.

Terrence Barker, 29, from Middleton, was given a suspended sentence of 11 months and banded from driving for 18 months.

Brandon Parkin, aged 21, from Leeds, was given a 6-month suspended sentence, 15 Rehabilitation days, 40 hours of unpaid work, a driving disqualification of 12 months.

A seventh defendant was dealt with at youth court for his involvement in the second incident.

The gang’s bikes and equipment, which have been held in storage for the last three years, were made the subject of a deprivation order.

After the sentencing, Chief Inspector Kev Pickles said: “Both incidents happened over significant distances on public roads in busy urban areas at a weekend and put people’s safety at risk and unnecessarily caused fear to members of the public who encountered them.

“As a result of some painstaking investigate work by officers from the Leeds South Neighbourhood Policing Team, the majority of those who took part were identified and charged.

“They have now had to face the consequences of their actions, and we hope this successful outcome will provide some reassurance to our communities and also send a clear deterrent message to those who unwisely choose to involve themselves in incidents like this.

“The anti-social use of motorbikes is an issue that we continue to work closely alongside our partner agencies to address.

“We have specialist off-road bike officers who patrol hotspot areas to support the work of local neighbourhood officers and we regularly seize bikes and issue warning notices as well as taking other enforcement action in conjunction with Leeds Anti-Social Behaviour Team.

“We also work with schools and other young people’s organisations to raise awareness of the risks this activity creates for both the riders and members of the public.

“We encourage people to report any incidents, particularly if they have specific information about known individuals who are involved, so that we can take appropriate action.”

Councillor Debra Coupar, deputy leader of Leeds City Council and executive member for resources, added: “The behaviour of this particular group of individuals in riding so recklessly through the pedestrianised areas of the city centre and on many busy roads was extremely dangerous and completely unacceptable."

“We will not tolerate anti-social behaviour of any kind in Leeds and working in partnership with the police and others we will strive to make sure there are consequences from people willingly engaging in this type of activity.

“I am pleased to see that firm action has been taken in this instance and would hope that it deters people from taking part in this type of criminal activity in future.”