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Belfast Live
Belfast Live
National
Damien Edgar

Call for action on scramblers and bikes in West Belfast

Police have warned of reports of people engaging in anti-social behaviour on bikes and scramblers in West Belfast.

On Tuesday afternoon a scrambler was recovered on the Brain's Well Road, after reports of disturbances in Poleglass.

Later that evening, a stolen motorbike was recovered from the nearby Pembroke Loop Road in a separate incident.

Read more: Scramblers in Belfast could result in ‘another death’

Sinn Féin Councillor for the Colin area, Caoimhín McCann, said it was a serious problem and that plans were being put in place to try and tackle it.

"It is an issue in the Collin, but particularly in Poleglass," he said.

"It was only a few years ago that there was a lady, Valerie Armstrong, killed by an illegal scrambler and she was a mother-of-three.

"When they're not road-safe and they're not legal it's really, really important that they're taken off the streets.

"It's scary to be honest, that kids will fly about on these bikes and the scramblers without helmets on, going really dangerous speeds.

"They don't know how to maintain bikes properly and don't know how to ride them properly."

He said they were working on getting a special programme to run in West Belfast to show young people how to safely use bikes and scramblers, in the hopes that it will help reduce the problem.

"The idea out the back of that is that hopefully we can get the kids somewhere to go and ride safely and legally.

"They'd be trained to do so and they'd know how to maintain a bike, because even if the chain snaps or something like that, you could be dead.

"It's anti-social behaviour not because of what they're doing, but where they're doing it.

"It's built-up areas, the football pitches, the nice Michael Ferguson roundabout has been ripped up a few times."

He said it was important to try and take a proactive approach to the problem rather than trying to deal with individual incidents in the aftermath.

"The theory is and the evidence backs this up, that if we can get the kids trained up and doing things the right way, that they'll actually go out and educate other kids in the community," he said.

"If we can get a space for them to do it safely, legally and properly, I think this will alleviate all this anti-social behaviour and all these serious issues."

The PSNI have issued an appeal for anyone with information about illegal usage of scramblers and bikes to report it.

“The dangers of driving these vehicles cannot be underestimated; people have been killed and seriously injured using these machines", said Sergeant Orman.

“They are not toys.

"It is vital that young people understand and respect the power of these vehicles and it is vitally important that the appropriate safety equipment is used and that their use is properly supervised."

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