Police respond to boy racer concerns in Matlock Bath

Numerous complaints have been made to Derbyshire Police – many of which involve nuisance driving in Derbyshire Dales District Council (DDDC) car parks – particularly the one run by the authority at Station Yard.

Inspector John Troup, who is in charge of policing in the Dales, said: “We are aware of concerns around nuisance motorists and officers carry out regular patrols of any hotspot areas to advice and take enforcement action where necessary.

“This could be enforcement under road traffic or anti-social behaviour legislation. For example, if someone is found to be driving irresponsibly then they might face prosecution for driving without due care and attention, or even dangerous driving. Issues such as noise nuisance caused by vehicles could see drivers being warned, and if they continue with that behaviour, their vehicles seized.

"We will continue to work to reduce the disruption caused by anti-social vehicles and respond appropriately under this legislation to target the issue, alongside our other operational demands. Any other measures to target the issue could be considered if necessary with the relevant local authorities in the future.”

DDDC is looking into upgrading CCTV which could identify culprits but told the Mercury it is not pursuing a Public Space Protection Order which could be enforced by its own officers .

A spokesman for the district council said: “We understand the police share our view that introducing a Public Space Protection Order would not be an effective measu re in deterring this sort of behaviour, which is generally happening during the evening and at weekends.

“PSPOs rely on officers being present to issue a Fixed Penalty Notice. Although many of our staff work unsocial hours, we only have a handful of PSPO trained officers and we believe the most direct course of action for anyone witnessing anything anti-social in our car parks or elsewhere is to call local police on 101.”