Menace of teeny riders

IT is a nuisance that is plaguing a community and one that nearly cost a youngster his life. Yet, despite the danger, youngsters are still risking their lives on the streets of Southampton week after week.

Their weapon of choice is not a gun or a knife but a motorbike.

Youngsters, most of whom are too young even to be in control of a machine, are riding on roads and pavements in built-up areas, using back alleys and nearby woods to escape from angry residents and pursuing police officers.

The problem is not a new one but it is something that has become a prime target of police in the Lordshill and Lordswood areas.

What is new is a range of powers that proactive police in Shirley are using to full advantage. And, with the summer months already here, officers are anticipating using them a lot more.

For some time the police have been using video camera recordings to build up a collection of known offenders, but their problem has always been charging them with a specific offence.

Now, thanks to the Criminal Justice Act, the police can seize the offending bikes and confiscate them if they have reasonable grounds to fear they are being driven dangerously.

Officers are also able to issue nuisance driver and their bikes with warnings known as Section 59. Once a youngster or the bike they are riding has been warned twice the police can then also confiscate their bike.

So far, officers led by Insp Dave Harrison have been able to seize one bike and issue 35 warnings. A further 15 bikes that were found to have been stolen have also been recovered.

Insp Harrison said: "We have found that, by using the legislation, we are in a better position to do something about the problem immediately.

"The warnings we give out apply to both the bike and the person riding it. Therefore we are able to confiscate the machine and they have to pay to get it back.

"It means that we have the power to do something straight away instead of having to caution or arrest them and dealing with it that way."

The focus on the problem sharpen considerably after the near death experience of six-year-old Owen Stockting. As reported in the Daily Echo last October, Owen was playing outside his home on Matherson Road when he was struck by a motorcycle that was being ridden at speeds of up to 60mph.

The rider, thought to be a teenager, failed to stop after the incident and remains at large.

At Shirley police station a library to rival any video hire shop is also being compiled documenting youngsters using recreation grounds and residential streets as dirt tracks on their trial bikes.

Codenamed Operation Kickstart, its officers have also been on dedicated operations where a whole day is dedicated to patrolling known hotspots in the woods, alleyways and subways around the Lordswood area.

"Officers gave up their leave time to help with the patrols. That reflects what a high priority it is for us here."

Public meetings have also been staged by police in a bid to reassure residents they were actively targeting the problem. Dedicated phone lines have been set up for people to report witnessing the nuisance while letter drops to people who have complained are routinely done to keep them up to date with how the police are handling the problem.

Despite the best efforts of police the problem persists and looks likely to become more of a nuisance as the summer approaches. However, a stark warning has been issued to young riders who are making the lives of residents miserable, that police are on their trail.

Owen Stockting's father Nigel, 37, said: "I don't know what more the police can do, as far I am concerned the police have done all they can. We can't keep the kids prisoners in their own homes but they run the risk every time they go out.

His wife Helen, 30, added: "They need to realise how dangerous what they are doing is. The nipper that hit Owen didn't even stop, what sort of person does that? It is only a matter of time before someone is killed. It was luck that Owen was not."