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15.
August
2017.
Confiscating illegal off road vehicles


Driving off road bikes or quads on council open space or on roads with no insurance is illegal and your vehicle will be confiscated.

This is the message from the South Wales Police and Cardiff Council, as another seven bikes were confiscated this weekend as part of Operation Red Mana. This comes hot on the heels of the previous work two weeks ago when five vehicles were seized from the Tremorfa area of the city.

The Council receives a number of complaints from residents complaining about this anti-social behaviour and the council is committed to working with the police to tackle this issue.

Since 2012, forty four partnership operations between Cardiff Council and the Police have taken place and ninety one vehicles have been confiscated.

Chief Inspector Joe Jones, from South Wales Police said: ""We know this is a massive issue for the community. Our concerns are that someone could be hurt by these bikes which are being ridden at high-speed and also the noise which is damaging quality of life for residents. Only recently, a 13 year-old boy very luckily escaped with his life after he lost control of the quad he was riding on a public road in Ely and drove straight into an oncoming bus.

"We would encourage the public to report any information regarding off-road bikes by e-mailing opredmana@south-wales.pnn.police.uk. The community are our eyes and ears and if they can tell us who is responsible for off-road bike nuisance and where there are problems, then we can make sure our officers are in the right place, at the right time. To report on on-going incident please dial 101 or 999 if it is an emergency."

Cllr Peter Bradbury, Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure, said: "Driving these vehicles with no insurance is putting both the driver and others at risk, as well as causing annoyance to those that live locally to Cardiff's parks and open spaces.

"The Council doesn't have the power to seize these vehicles, so we will continue to work with the police to carry out these operations.

"All the motor vehicles that have been confiscated that didn't have insurance are being held in storage and it is likely they will be destroyed.

"We have a facility which is currently free to use off Rover Way but this facility can only be used when it is open. If it isn't open, then the facility cannot be used as there is no supervision in place and the public liability insurance for the facility isn't valid.

"We ask all those that own these vehicles and want to ride them to contact the motor cross centre. It is simple to register and all we ask is that motorbike enthusiasts using the track volunteer their time to come and help run the facility, so in effect swap track time for volunteer time. We carry out checks on the vehicles to ensure they are safe to ride, ensure all riders are wearing protective equipment and the facility is open for everyone from the age of 7 upwards."

For more information on how to get to Cardiff's motocross facility - visit here -http://www.totalmx.co.uk/tracks/Cardiff-Motocross-Centre-MX-and-Minibike-Track.php