Seven off road bikes “causing nuisance and upset to communities” seized during Walsall operation

The seven bikes were seized from the areas of Brownhills, Blakenhall, Bloxwich, and Goscote.

Two vehicles were showing as stolen and investigations will now take place in relation to those people found with the vehicles.

A number of other people were also reported for offences including dangerous driving, having no insurance, theft and anti-social behaviour.

For the operation, Walsall neighbourhood teams partnered up with Staffordshire Police and other key partners from the Walsall local authority, with support from the West Midlands Police drone team and fixed wing plane.

During the operation, officers deployed their own specialist off road motorbikes which allows themto enter and patrol public parks, paths, and wasteland and track down offenders.

A spokesperson for the force said: “These bikes are often driven dangerously on roads and green spaces causing significant upset to our local communities.

“Some are stolen and being used to commit crime such as theft, burglary and other related offences.”

Inspector Pete Poolton, neighbourhood policing manager for Walsall, said: “We have carried out a number of these off road bike operations in recent months after listening to the concerns of local people.

“We understand the nuisance they cause to people’s lives and that is why we are doing all we can to tackle the problem.

“Illegal off road biking is having a serious impact on our local communities and we simply won’t tolerate it.

“The operations have been led by Brownhills Sergeant Richard Kirk who has tackled the problems in an innovative way and by using a wide range of resources and linking up with a number of partner agencies.

“The operations have been a huge success so far and we will be running more of them in the coming weeks and months.

“We will be targeting people who use these vehicles in an anti-social and dangerous way. We are warning offenders who continue to drive these machines illegally and putting the public at risk that they will be caught. Their vehicles will be seized.”

Police urge residents to continue to report any issues so that they have up-to-date descriptions and locations via Live Chat on their website or by ringing 101.

Officers would also encourage residents to sign up to the Community Alert scheme for updates using wmnow.co.uk.