Trailer puts mini-moto riders on right track (From thisisoxfordshire)

Trailer puts mini-moto riders on right track

3:30pm Thursday 29th July 2010 in

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A TRAILER has been bought to encourage teenagers on an Oxford estate not to tear around streets on mini-motorbikes but travel to proper tracks instead.

Police in Barton bought the £70 trailer on auction website eBay with money from the Barton Community Association. It will be lent out to families so they can transport the miniature bikes.

Residents have been complaining about the mini-moto problem for years, and every summer have been forced to put up with teenagers racing around streets and churning up fields.

In June, officers told the Oxford Mail they were hoping to secure an area of land near Didcot, so young people could legally ride the bikes. This deal has since fallen through But local teenagers asked how they were supposed to transport their bikes.

To solve the problem, the police team decided to bid for the motorbike trailer, which will be available for hire from the community asssociation for a refundable fee of £5 per day.

Since our article was published, owners of the Eynsham Practice Track contacted police to tell them about their specially-designed track just eight miles away from Barton.

Sgt Jim Holmes said: “It has been an ongoing problem for quite some time now. Every summer it becomes a priority and this summer we thought we should take a new approach.

“For the people whose gardens back on to the site behind the school, it’s the constant noise. It starts early in the morning and they can’t go and sit in their garden when hearing these bikes.

“It’s not a proper raceway and there are risks of someone being hit by one of the bikes and it can be quite serious. It’s dangerous and it’s antisocial.

“We bought a trailer which will be lent out to residents so they can take their bikes to legal riding sites to stop them using local land.”

The trailer will be able to transport three mini-motos and can be attached to the back of a car.

Sgt Holmes added: “I hope it will solve the problem.

“We see other neighbourhood teams going to seize the bikes and that has to be part of the answer, but the other part is to say ‘You can’t ride here, but go here instead’. You can’t offer punitive action and not offer anything else.”

John Pounder, who runs the Eynsham site off the A40, said: “Eynsham is only eight miles from Oxford, so there’s a difference in travelling and expenses from the Didcot track. It’s to get the kids off the street.”

Mr Pounder charges £20 a day and is open all day Wednesday and the last Sunday of every month.