Police seize vehicles after crackdown on illegal and anti-social driving in town
A number of vehicles have been seized in Darlington by Durham Constabulary following a crackdown on anti-social driving. (Image: Durham Constabulary)
Police have seized a number of vehicles in Darlington following a multi-day operation targeting dangerous vehicles and troublesome drivers.
Darlington Neighborhood Policing Team undertook the special operation with assistance from Durham Constabulary’s roads and armed policing unit to target hotspot areas for anti-social road use.
Officers patrolled hotspot areas on e-bikes and used their drone to investigate reports of anti-social driving.
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Officers used powers including the issuing of Traffic 183 warning notices, which are effectively a first warning to road users that further nuisance driving will lead to a vehicle impoundment, as well as Section 59 powers which give officers the power to impound vehicles without prior warning from the pick up road within certain areas of town.
The Northern Echo: Officers used a drone to track down anti-social drivers in Darlington.
Officers used a drone to track down anti-social drivers in Darlington. (Image: Durham Constabulary)
The results included:
Honda 125 motorcycle seized after fleeing from officers on Corporation Road. The bike was found dumped nearby and the rider was found by road policing officers. A 15-year-old boy was subsequently arrested on suspicion of driving without a license and insurance
A motorcycle was seized from an address in Newton Aycliffe after information was received that it had been seen in an incident involving several vehicles being chased in Feethams car park in Darlington on Thursday night (January 26). The rider had already been issued with a Traffic 183 warning notice in November, meaning that if the bike or rider was involved in further anti-social driving, the bike would be confiscated. Several other vehicles involved in the incident have also been identified by officers and inquiries are ongoing to locate the owners
Traffic 183 warning issued to a man using a dirt bike on private farmland off Staindrop Road, near Branksome. The rider claimed the landowner had given him permission to ride there, but investigations by officers revealed no permission was ever given.
Ford Fiesta seized after being driven anti-socially within a designated Section 59 area at Morton Park
Traffic 183 warning notice issued to two vehicles recently seen doing donuts in Feethams multi-storey car park
Traffic 183 warning notice issued to the rider of an electric scooter in Minors Crescent
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Sergeant Paul Vardy, from the Darlington Neighborhood Policing Team, said: “We know the frustration that nuisance motorcyclists and drivers cause to our communities, which is why we are working hard to tackle them.
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“Through Operation Endurance we are constantly collecting and monitoring information about these people so that we can take action to disrupt them and stop their offending.
“If you have any information about nuisance cyclists in your area then let us know – we will take action, as this operation has shown.”
Information can be emailed to [email protected] or reported online.
