People living in a Leicester community say “nuisance” motorcycle riders are driving them to breaking point after police vehicles were targeted in another attack.
Leicestershire Police said three of their vehicles were damaged by motorcycle riders in separate incidents on Monday, May 11.
At 5.45pm, officers were in a marked car, on Saffron Lane, responding to an incident when the nearside rear door was kicked.
Just over half an hour later, at 6.20pm, on Welford Road, the front windscreen of a police car was smashed, and the roof was damaged while officers had left their vehicle to respond to an incident.
Then, at 7.20pm, officers were in the area of Elston Fields when a brick was thrown at a police car, causing damage to the side panel.
Officers are looking to speak with riders pictured(Image: Leicestershire Police)
Anna Hoey, who lives near Elson Fields, said: “I love living here, but you do get a lot of these bikers around this park. They’ve never done something like attack the police though, that is shocking.
“Knowing that makes you feel unsafe because they are careless riders who seem to be getting bolder every day. You’ve got to be a lot more cautious when they are around.”
The 41-year-old said Elson Fields is a popular meeting spot for these bikers, making the park unsafe.
She said: “When we’re walking our dogs, sometimes we can’t let them off the lead in the park because the bikes will be whizzing about and they tend to cut through the park all the time.
“The scary thing is that it isn’t just adults riding these bikes as they put their kids on them as well, which is so unsafe.”
Some residents said they are growing impatient with careless bikers, and the issues have persisted for years.
John Smith, 75, has lived in the Saffron Lane area for most of his life. He said: “They don’t care about the people on the footpaths, whether it is a child or an old-age pensioner, they just do whatever they want.
“It’s like a motorway up and down the footpaths here these days and it has been going on a long time.
“I’m becoming tired of them not being dealt with. I’ve even thought about putting stingers out because you get them that frequently down Saffron Lane, but you never say anything because you don’t know if they are carrying a knife or something else.
“Plus, they are always wearing black balaclavas because they know they are breaking the rules by doing silly things like wheelies in between traffic lights and all sorts.”
Sharon Coutton, leader of the Saffron Lane Wombles, said they are painting a negative picture of the community.
Sharon in Elson Fields park(Image: Leicester Mercury)
She said: “It’s a daily thing that you see the bikes out in the area and on the rare occasion you’ll even see adults with their kids on quad bikes, which is a worry.
“And why do the bikes have to be so loud? They are clearly overcompensating.
“It is a lovely community here, but there are some bad apples; we are not naïve to say there is not, as it is them that tend to spoil the barrel, but people have to speak out and tell the police, as if you don’t tell officers, how are they meant to act on things?”
When told about the recent incidents which saw police vehicles damaged, the 52-year-old said: “Honestly, I do not go out in the afternoon because you never know who is about.
“There is no respect for the police anymore.
“I’ve lived here all my life, and when we were growing up, the police officer would come by while we were playing curby or jump rope, and he would say each of our names, and we would shut up.
“We weren’t even doing anything bad, but there was a sense of respect for officers, which is lost these days.”
Simon said he was not surprised to hear about the attacks(Image: Leicester Mercury)
Owner of FMB Cycles, in Saffron Lane, Simon Holyoak, said: “You get them all the time, and you know they are approaching because you hear a roar of bikes coming up the main road.
“They hurt our business as people tend to group all electric bikes and say they are illegal, when not all of them are. It is only the ones which are tampered with, which are actually illegal, but we’ve seen fewer people buying electric bikes because of these groups.”
The 49-year-old said he was not surprised to hear about the recent attacks, as “riders are getting more careless about breaking the rules.
“I was at the pork pie roundabout once with a police car in front of me. Two young lads came wheeling past, right by the officers, crossed dangerously onto the grass of the roundabout, and the officers didn’t do anything.
“I personally have never felt unsafe, but you see families at times going to cross the road when all of a sudden these riders come zooming past, and they have to stumble backwards because they get scared, and you can’t blame them.”
Anyone with information regarding the incidents from Monday, May 11, can pass it on by contacting the police on 101 and quoting reference 26*190041.
