Hucknall councillor wants police to step up the fight against off-road bike menace

A Hucknall councillor has asked police to step patrols around areas of the town to combat the rising menace of off-road bike incidents.
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Coun David Shaw (Ash Ind), who represents Hucknall on both Ashfield District and Nottinghamshire County councils, says he has been receiving regular complaints from residents about illegal off-road bike usage, particularly in the new estates around the former Rolls Royce aerodrome site.

But he added that the problem was not just limited to that area and that areas like Titchfield Park were also still seeing off-road bike activity too.

Coun Shaw said: “I’ve had complaints from residents about off roads bikes on roads like Hurricane Road, Spitfire Way, Airfield Way and Lightning Grove. Harrier Park, or the old Rolls Royce aerodrome site used to test their engines and aircraft here.

Coun David Shaw (right), with Coun Lee Waters, is urging the police to increase patrols to tackle illegal off-road bikersCoun David Shaw (right), with Coun Lee Waters, is urging the police to increase patrols to tackle illegal off-road bikers
Coun David Shaw (right), with Coun Lee Waters, is urging the police to increase patrols to tackle illegal off-road bikers

"Now our new residents are having to put up with the sound of a different type of engine.

"The sound of these menacing bikes that has become an epidemic on this estate and other parks of Hucknall like Nabbs Lane and Titchfield Park.

“We are in regular contact with our local police team about combatting off road bikes.

"Unlicensed bikes like this are killing machines.

"They put the users and residents lives in danger, churn up our open spaces and are a nightmare for locals.

"I have formally requested that Nottinghamshire Police’s off-road bike team steps up its patrols on this estate and across our parks and open spaces in Hucknall.”

Reply to an email from Coun Shaw, Inspector Mark Dickson, district commander for Ashfield, said: “We are aware of the scale of this issue and the local concerns and have launched Op Arachinda, which is a bespoke operation to tackle off-road bike use in Ashfield.

"The operation will be using some methods we have used in previous roles to tackle organised crime and support the pro-active work already being done.

"The team patrol the area regularly and it is one of the key areas the off-road team deploy to, along with the other sites mentioned.”

“Could I ask residents to email any photos/videos of the bikes, and provide any information they may have as to who is using the bikes to [email protected]

“This will allow us to use an intel-led model to tackle this issue.”