Court Order Bans Boy Racers From Parts Of Nottingham

16 January 2015, 14:53 | Updated: 30 March 2016, 13:50

Boy racers who speed through the streets of Nottingham could now be jailed.

People living around around Chilwell Retail Park, Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield and the area surrounding junction 27 of the M1 have had to put up with large gatherings of 'car cruisers'.

It's meant that hundreds of cars have turned up at a time to race on the streets, sometimes until the early hours of the morning.

The meet-ups are usually organised through Facebook and Twitter.

Nottinghamshire County Council brought the court action to get an injunction to stop it happening in the three area.  Nottinghamshire Police have also helped.

Anyone found guilty of being in breach of the order could be classed as being in contempt of court, which carries a maximum two year jail sentence and/or unlimited fine.

Hundreds of reports by motorists of near-misses, excessive numbers of speeding vehicles and dangerous driving around junction 27 of the M1 have been made to the Police control room.

Councillor Alice Grice, Vice-Chair of Community Safety Committee at Nottinghamshire County Council, said: "Car cruising is anti-social for nearby residents and businesses and dangerous for those taking part and other road-users.

"I am delighted that we have been able to secure this injunction today, which provides significant, extra powers to the police to curb the 'boy racers'. The success of the injunction in Netherfield should provide encouragement to businesses and residents in Chilwell and Hucknall that these powers do deter anti-social driving and car cruising.

"People who behave and drive recklessly in these locations in the future should be left in no doubt that they face the genuine possibility of prison sentence if they continue to behave in a way which is dangerous, intimidating and distressing to local people and road users."

Andy Charlton of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "We find the way that some of those attending these events drive in a manner that can cause harm and risk to other road users and themselves. The large number of attendees can also be intimidating and lead to antisocial behaviour.

"These injunctions continue to give us powers to warn drivers about racing, riding in convoy, driving at excessive speed, watching or filming car cruising activity and other potentially dangerous action and raise awareness of the consequences. If they subsequently breach the warning they can be taken to court. Safety is our main concern and this injunction will prevent large numbers of vehicles meeting up at junction 27 of the M1, Chilwell Retail Park and Victoria Retail Park in Netherfield for the next three years."

The Injunction comes into force  straight away and lasts until 2018.

Anyone found to be in breach will be issued with an warning first before any court action.