15 vehicles seized during Chester day of action

Local Policing and Roads Crime officers conducting the latest Operation Lawmaker have undertaken a day of action and seized 15 electric and off-road vehicles being used throughout Chester.

Over the past few months, Cheshire Police have been actively responding to concerns across the county relating to the anti-social and dangerous use of electric and off-road vehicles on our county’s roads and town centres.

As part of ongoing efforts to tackle these concerns officers have over the past few months developed a bespoke operation, known as Operation Lawmaker, specifically designed to proactively target and deter riders from flouting the rules of the road and putting both their lives and the lives of other road users and pedestrians at risk.

During the most recent day of action on Wednesday 6th August, Lawmaker officers, supported by the Constabulary’s Drone Unit, Vehicle Recovery, Beat Teams and Motorcycle Unit were deployed across Chester to target hotspot areas and disrupt known offenders.

Over the course of the day, their work resulted in 15 vehicles, such as illegally converted pedal cycles, non-road-legal bikes and off roaders, being seized.

Other results from the day included:

• The issuing of 19 Traffic Offence reports for offences including motorists using mobile phone, not wearing seatbelts and vehicles having insecure loads
• Two motorists have been summonsed for having no insurance
• One person was also arrested for possession of cannabis and breaching public order

Chief Inspector Cameron Taylor, of the Roads and Crime Unit, said:

“Operation Lawmaker has been rolled out across the county in response to concerns from residents regarding the anti-social and dangerous driving of non-legal off-road bikes - this unsafe use of high-powered vehicles on our roads and in pedestrian areas is a priority issue for our officers and I want to reassure the public that we will continue to take a robust approach with those causing such harm within your communities.

"Having seized these 15 vehicles over the course of one day is a great result but our work is not done. Our officers will continue carrying out these operations with high-visibility patrols in hotspot areas across the county, targeting those intent on causing a nuisance in their community and disregarding the safety of both themselves, other road users and pedestrians.

“With that in mind, we cannot do this alone. If you have any information regarding the dangerous and anti-social usage of any vehicle on Cheshire’s roads, I urge you to contact your local neighbourhood team or Cheshire Police.”