Off-road bikers with 'free reign' of Burnley's roads could cause more deaths, fears councillor

Coun. Martyn Hurt, who represents Trinity, says residents regularly complain to him about young riders wearing masks and doing wheelies, speeding along streets, weaving in and out of traffic, and shooting out at junctions.

Branding them “extremely dangerous”, he is calling on the police to put a stop to them following two serious incidents in Burnley within two days last month when riders collided with passer-bys, injuring a 13-year-old girl in the first and killing an elderly man in the second. Bart O’Hare (86) died from his injuries in hospital earlier this month following a collision in Accrington Road.

"That was shocking. To be honest, it’s just sheer luck there haven’t been any more deaths or serious injuries. It’s only a matter of time. I’m worried that we will see more people seriously injured or killed, especially children, as we come up to summer and they play out.

"These bikes are extremely dangerous. At the minute, the riders think no-one is going to do anything about them. They have free reign.”

The councillor is concerned “people will take the issue into their own hands. We don’t want vigilantism. People are fed up with the bikes. They think nothing is being done about it.

“We need something from the police [to show us] they have a plan to tackle them. People want to see some sort of action.

"People see them riding around with no enforcement taking place. I know it’s difficult for the police when they don’t know where they’ve gone. They can shoot out of the way or down the canal towpath.

“But people know where they are most likely to be. We all know they’re in Colne Road, Church Street and Centenary Way daily. The police should find out where the hotspots are, target those areas and crush the bikes.

"I spoke to the chief superintendent a year ago and he did say the police are looking at solutions to it but we haven’t seen anything. Is it lack of manpower, vehicles or trained officers? Is it a fear that if they try to stop the bikes, someone will get injured and they will be blamed?

“They need to look at their tools and tackle the problem. I don’t believe there is nothing they can do. The next police and crime commissioner could possibly look into this and fund a scheme to plan how to safely stop these bikes when they’re found.

"Also, we need to find out why people are riding them. Is it the thrill of the speed? Is there something we can do to persuade them not to or are there any schemes to get them into legal motorbike activities?

“We should let them talk to the families of people who have been injured so they can see the impact. Working with people trained to get them out of those sorts of lifestyles would be better than throwing them into the justice system, which can ruin your life chances.

"One thing we want to do is make sure no-one else is killed or injured and that includes the riders, and find a way of diverting them into something legal and positive.”