Northumberland motorbike disorder on rise as Ashington and Blyth worst affected

A bike seized by police and later crushed.
A bike seized by Northumbria Police during Operation Capio as the force look to clamp down on anti-social motorbike activity. Credit: ITV Tyne Tees

Motorbike disorder has risen to its highest level in Northumberland since 2020.

More than 1,300 cases of anti-social behaviour involving the illegal use of off-road and electric motorbikes were reported during 2023 in the county's biggest towns.

A Freedom of Information request by the Local Democracy Reporting Service has shown there were 1,366 cases reported in total, a significant increase from 980 incidents in 2022.

Ashington was the worst affected with 402 cases reported in the last 12 months. Blyth, Cramlington and Bedlington were the next worst affected while Ponteland was at the opposite end of the scale with no incidents reported at all.

Motorbike disorder is on the rise in Northumberland. Credit: LDRS

Northumbria Police have launched Operation Capio to try and tackle motorbike disorder, which sees officers working with partners to respond to reports of dangerous riding.

The public has been encouraged to report incidents as soon as possible to allow to catch those responsible.

Chief Inspector Colin Lowther said: “As a force we take all reports of anti-social behaviour seriously, especially those involving electric motorbikes and off-road bikes. This is because we know the actions of a minority can have a significant impact on the wider community.

“We are committed to tackling this type of disorder, and have recently launched Operation Capio, dedicated activity which sees us working with partners and using a range of tools to ensure a robust response to reports of reckless and dangerous riding.

Ashington has been the worst affected of the Northumberland towns. Credit: LDRS

“As part of this activity, we regularly deploy officers to hotspot areas, issue dispersal notices, seize vehicles and make arrests where appropriate.

"We have also recently started to use drones to support our work in this area and will continue to use technology to enhance and develop our response.

“As always, we’d like to thank the public for their continued support. By sharing concerns and reporting incidents to us allows our intelligence picture to grow so we can better shape our patrols and planning.

"I hope our communities know that we act on the information they share with us and we’d ask they continue to be our eyes and ears.

“If you see something suspicious, please report it to police at the earliest opportunity and share as much detail as possible to help us bring any offenders to justice.”

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