Police crackdown on young people accused of bad driving

Officers in Machynlleth have received a number of complaints about the issue.

Police claim the problem is not just confined to boy, but girl racers too, who are wheel-spinning their vehicles, racing each other and excessively accelerating.

The warning comes as a North Wales Police campaign warns that persistent offenders can even have their cars crushed.

Sergeant Steve Bullock, of Dyfed-Powys Police, in Machynlleth, said: "We can seize cars from people who persist in doing this.

"They can get their cars back but it costs. It's a law that was brought in recently.

"The complaints centre on about eight or 10 cars and drivers have received warnings, but they have ignored them so we're moving towards enforcement.

"If there is an allegation of careless or inconsiderate driving and it is likely to cause alarm, distress or annoyance then the driver of the vehicle will be reported and warned that their vehicle may be seized if the vehicle is driven in a similar way again."

The response follows a number of complaints.

Police say they will not tolerate so-called boy and girl racers

Vulnerable

Sergeant Bullock added: "This problem is not confined to boys - female drivers have also been mentioned.

"We ask members of the community when witnessing such incidents to try and record as much detail as possible."

Powys county councillor Michael Williams, who represents Machynlleth, said the elderly were particularly vulnerable to the problem.

"This situation has been a concern for some time and I'm very pleased the police are taking action," said Mr Williams.

"The elderly are particularly vulnerable to the screeching tyres and noise generated by the cars. This sort of behaviour is very upsetting."

"About 28% of the population in the town is over the retirement age and that's about 6% above the Welsh average."

There have also been complaints about "noisy" exhaust systems on some cars.

Under the Police Reform Act 2002, police can seize the cars of people using roads as racetracks.

Meanwhile, North Wales chief constable Richard Brunstrom supervised the crushing of two cars on Wednesday as part of his force's campaign against 'boy racers.'

Persistent offenders can have their vehicles seized and then face a �105 charge to reclaim them.