CCTV crackdown launched on Newport boy racers

Mobile CCTV cameras will be put in place to catch offenders in the act, which could lead to them losing their vehicles.

Many of the complaints of boy racers in the town also include reports of anti-social behaviour as those responsible park on supermarket car parks and play loud music.

Police said that measures were being put into place now in case of spillover from other areas – such as Walsall and Dudley – where blanket bans on boy racers have been put in place to combat boy racers.

Chris Kowalik, of Telford & Wrekin Council, said: “Working with the police and other partner agencies, we are planning to implement a number of measures, which will include the use of mobile CCTV cameras to identify any vehicles being raced, after which appropriate enforcement action will be taken, which could include the seizure of offending vehicles, as well as visiting locations in Newport to gather evidence.”

Lee Thomas, of Newport’s safer neighbourhood team, said that if offenders were identified they would be “dealt with accordingly”.

He said: “We’re working with Telford & Wrekin Council to deal with boy racers and to find a longer term solution.

“For now it’s sporadic. We used to have a bigger problem a few years ago, it’s not so much of an issue now.

“They’re parked up on a car park, playing music rather than driving offences, although we’re receiving information that they also do circuits of the town.

“We are engaging with them, telling them to be considerate and making them aware that residents are nearby. If offenders are identified, they will be dealt with accordingly. It’s not the state it was a few years ago.

“With that said, a number of councils in the Midlands have put in High Court injunctions to stop groups like these gathering. We are concerned we might see an increased number coming our way because of that, but we’re not seeing that yet.”

High Court injunctions were put in place in 2015 banning anybody from taking part in a car cruise within the four Black Country boroughs – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and the City of Wolverhampton – or from promoting, organising or publicising such an event.

It had an instant impact, with police and councils reporting a significant reduction in car cruising across the Black Country, and the problem being eliminated altogether in many areas.