THEY are children taking their lives in their own hands – and putting countless others at risk.

Racing around the streets, riding recklessly on pavements and hurtling through alleyways, they are making residents lives a misery as they tear up the streets on illegal motorbikes, mopeds and quad bikes.

Daily Echo:

Today the Daily Echo can reveal how a girl thought to be as young as eight years old is among the gang of nuisance youths behind the dangerous joyriding that is plaguing the Southampton communities of Millbrook, Coxford and Lordshill.

She was spotted riding a quad bike on the roads just last weekend.

Another youth triggered a large police presence yesterday, including a police helicopter in the skies over Millbrook, as he was spotted riding dangerously at speed around the area on an off-road scrambler bike.

 

The problem has become so bad in recent weeks that more than 70 complaints have been received from local residents fed up with the antisocial behaviour in their neighbourhood.

Twelve of them came in just one day last weekend as youths raced around the area, mostly on bikes without tax or insurance and without even wearing protective clothing or helmets.

It is the issue that blights the lives of local people every summer – with police seeing a noticeable spike in reported incidents with lighter evenings and the school summer holidays in full swing.

Daily Echo:

But this year officers, who have relaunched the dedicated Operation Convergence campaign to clamp down on the problem, say it is two-fold – with the number of thefts of motorcycles in the area also rapidly rising.

Police in Shirley are receiving up to two reports every day of motorcycles being stolen from homes in the area, and believe many of them are then being used to commit other crimes, including theft and burglary.

Now they are urging residents to play their part in stopping the offenders by shopping known yobs and calling police with information about those suspected to be involved.

PC Kim Thomas, engagement officer for Coxford who is leading the operation, said: “We need people to do their bit and be our eyes and ears. The answer lies in the community and we need residents to tell us where these bikes are being kept, who is riding them and how we can find them.

Daily Echo:

  “If your neighbour suddenly has bikes you don’t recognise or you don’t think they are old enough to ride them, then pick up the phone and tell us.”

Officers believe many of the stolen bikes are having their registation plates removed and are being quickly resprayed.

Only two have so far been recovered.

PC Thomas added: “The danger posed to themselves and to others, particularly during the holidays when there are a lot of children walking about, is the priority for us. We don’t want to see people lose their lives.”

 Do you know who is riding the bikes or do you know where they are being kept?

Call police at Redbridge on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111