Police in Telford are the latest force to adopt off-road bikes as a means to tackling illegal off-road riding. According to West Mercia Police, there’s been an increasing number of complaints in the area about trail bikes and quads being ridden on footpaths and in parks. Operation Spree is aimed at combatting the illegal riders, with off-road machines supplied by West Midlands Police and support from the National Police Air Service, which can spot and track riders from the sky.

“We’re taking this issue to them directly,” Sgt David Williams told BBC Radio Shropshire, “as opposed to waiting for a call and nobody being available.” He added, “Telford is mainly built up of close communities. So they’re riding on pavements around housing estates and causing distress and danger for members of the public.” Several police forces now use off-road bikes to deter off-road crime and catch the riders.

If you have any concerns about off-road biking in Telford you can contact the Safer Neighbourhood Teams by emailing Opspree@westmercia.police.uk

Jim freeman, chair of the BMF welcomed the move. “This has always been about enforcement of existing laws. There has been an unfortunate political tendency to pretend that more legislation is needed to fix the problem, it isn’t , the laws are there, they’re just ignored by law-breaking riders. Telford, amongst others, are to be congratulated on taking a proactive approach, especially using drones to identify and track illegal users. ‘Nowhere to run to, no place to hide’.”

Written by Peter Henshaw

Top image courtesy of West Midlands Police