Success for off-road cops

An operation was planned to crack down on illegal off-road bikers around a quarry off Round Lane, which has become a draw for bikers.

It involved local officers and colleagues from the Motorcycle and Rural Crime Team, which works across the county.

MARCT officers found illegal riders on four electric motorbikes and a pursuit followed, resulting in one rider being detained, with his bike seized for having no insurance.

Three vehicles were also recovered, with two found to be on false or cloned number plates, with another having an uninsured driver.

Two occupants from one vehicle were arrested for possession of class A drugs, with intent to supply and possessing offensive weapons.

Meanwhile, colleagues on pedal cycles covered a 14 mile section of the Roman Ridge and Transpennine trail from Scawsby, to provide a visible police presence, visiting petrols stations to explain how staff can assist police by reporting information.

Sgt Kelly Ward said: "We know how much of a nuisance off-road bikes are in our local communities and we recognise people's frustrations towards them.

"Every piece of information we gather on off-road bikes is used to shape our local intelligence picture and helps us to locate the vehicles involved and seize them.

"We use that intelligence to shape our policing activities every day and these days of action involving the Motorcycle and Rural Crime Team allow us to adopt a high visibility approach and better monitor off-road locations where we know off-road bikes to be more prevalent.