Rawmarsh and Conisbrough MP John Healey recently joined South Yorkshire Police’s Off-Road Biking Team, alongside officers from the Doncaster South Neighbourhood Policing Team and Doncaster Council neighbourhood officers, for a walkabout around the town.
The visit follows a surge in residents contacting Healey to raise concerns about off-road biking across Conisbrough and Denaby. In response, the MP launched a survey to identify nuisance riding hotspots and better understand the impact on the local community.
Respondents reported dangerous riding, often on footpaths and bridleways, as well as churned up football pitches and noise disturbances.
The walkabout provided an opportunity to gain greater insight into South Yorkshire Police’s work in the area to tackle off-road biking, as well as their wider efforts to address anti-social behaviour. Kim Wilson and Luke Vandome from the council’s Doncaster South Locality Team also discussed the Conisbrough Town Centre Masterplan and how it is supporting the work of the local Neighbourhood Policing Team in tackling anti-social behaviour.
Adrian Luscombe, Doncaster South Inspector, said:
“The anti-social and criminal use of motorbikes and quads on our roads and public places is amongst the most frequently reported issue to South Yorkshire Police across the county. It is also consistently raised with us as an issue of significant concern when engaging with members of the public.
“We can only be effective in tackling this issue with the support of communities, such as Conisbrough, where this is taking place. We rely on reports of where and when this is happening so that we can appropriately target our resources.
“We will also follow up on any information provided that we can use to identify those involved or where these bikes are being stored, in order to take enforcement action against them.”
John Healey, MP for Conisbrough, said:
“Thank you to all those who took part in the off-road biking survey earlier this year. The information you provided gave the local policing team important information about where dangerous off-road biking is taking place across Conisbrough and Denaby.
“Working alongside local partners, South Yorkshire Police and Doncaster Council, is vital in dealing with the issues that matter most to local residents. The off-road biking team work really hard to target the illegal use of motorbikes and quads throughout our area, but they rely on residents to report incidents and build a clear a picture of when and where activity is taking place.
“I would urge residents to report incidents to 101 and together we can tackle this issue head on.”