South Oxhey motorbike yobs to be hounded from the air, say police

12:08pm Tuesday 18th November 2008

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By Neil Skinner »

Yobs who ride motorcycles across the parks and woods of South Oxhey will be pursued with the full force of the law, it was announced last night.

Frustrated residents were told at a meeting of the Watford Rural Area Forum that officers planned to track offenders by air – with the police helicopter.

Speaking at the meeting PC Steven Sweet responded to repeated questions about nuisance youths on illegal motorcycles by saying that, where practicable, they would be pursued by the multi-million pound aircraft.

Residents reported an alarming rise in the number of youths riding uninsured and unlicensed bikes across the Oxhey Playing Fields and through the woods, saying they feared a serious accident and detested the noise created.

Immense damage, they claimed had been caused to – amongst other areas – the football pitches, which were churned up by the furious spinning of wheels.

PC Sweet, who said three bikes had been confiscated and crushed in the area already this year, explained that funding cuts had prevented motorcycle riding colleagues from pursuing offenders.

Better use of the force’s helicopter, he said, would allow the errant riders to be caught more effectively and punished, providing the machine was not needed on a more important job elsewhere.

The helicopter, which also serves Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire would work in conjunction with ground crews to trace offenders to an arrest point.

A representative of Hertfordshire Police confirmed the policy, saying helicopters have been used successfully elsewhere in the county to tackle the problem.