SpringWatch moves up a gear

Bikes seized in Sutton Heath

Nuisance riders in Sutton Heath have been stopped in their tracks after police officers seized an off-road machine as part of the SpringWatch campaign.

Agencies including St Helens Council, Merseyside Police and Helena Partnerships are targeting anti-social behaviour as the nights get lighter.

And with off road vehicle nuisance one of the first priorities, the St Helens Community Safety Partnership is already making headway.

After complaints from residents a Helena neighbourhood officer spotted youths using the bike on footpaths near an estate in Sutton Heath and passed on information to the police. Mobile CCTV cameras also recorded the incident.

The bike was then confiscated by officers who also impounded a second, uninsured bike from an address in Sutton Heath.

St Helens Council's Anti Social Behaviour Manager Colette McIntyre said: "Riding any of these machines on public land, parks, pavements, waste ground or footpaths in St.Helens is illegal"

"If you're using a motor vehicle that's causing - or is likely to cause - alarm, distress or annoyance to others, your vehicle will be seized."

Caption: Seized…Constable Jordan Quinn (left) and Special Inspector Jack Woodward with the seized machines