Residents patrolling streets as anti-social bike riding becoming ‘the norm’

Jennie Henry has been to Yarm Road in Stockton, where residents say anti-social bike riding is getting ‘ridiculous’
A local residents’ association in Stockton say they are so fed up of anti-social bike riding that they have set up night time patrols to try and deter this type of behaviour.
People living in the Yarm Road area of the town told ITV News that some riders are terrorising the area, and that the situation is now getting ‘ridiculous’.
The road is one of the busiest routes into Stockton, stretching all the way from Eaglescliffe and Yarm up into the town centre.
Residents say riders often go on the footpath, and this has led to some near-miss occurrences.
Tariq Mahmood from the local residents association said: “We do try to flag these guys down, we do ask them to calm down. I think we’re just being laughed at and nothing is really being done.”
Cllr Shakeel Hussain, who represents the Ropner ward, said: “It was a local thing, but now we’ve seen that it is spreading across the borough and it’s becoming the norm. If we ignore it, it will get worse, it probably will become a lawless society.”
Meanwhile, the issue has been raised in parliament today by a North East MP.
At Prime Minister’s Questions, Lewis Atkinson, the MP for Sunderland Central, asked Sir Keir Starmer how he would help the police tackle the misery caused by “intimidating and downright dangerous” anti-social behaviour on bikes.
Sir Keir replied: “Anti-social behaviour affects so many people, sometimes it’s described to me as low level, it isn’t in the impact it has particularly when it comes to off-road bikes and that’s why we’re implementing tough new respect orders, which will give powers to the police, including powers to seize off-road bikes, but crucially adds a power of arrest for breach of the orders.”
Announcing plans for the respect orders last week, the Home Office said those who flout the rules could face up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine.
Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know…