A north London council has obtained a court order banning boy racers after a spate of dangerous ‘car cruises’ in the borough - one of which injured a pregnant woman.
Enfield Council obtained the High Court injunction because racers have been using high-powered cars to perform risky stunts on major roads and car parks in the area, including on part of the North Circular.
It told the court it needed the order to prevent members of the public being put at risk, saying the unauthorised races were attracting hundreds of people from as far away as the Midlands.
The order specifically bans gatherings of more than two racers anywhere in the borough between 3pm and 7am, giving police greater powers of arrest.
It also bans antisocial behaviour associated with the events such as drug use and sexual activity in the cars.
Police told the court the events drew up to 300 plus sports cars such as Mercedes and Aston Martins, and frequently occurred on major roads such the North Circular, the A10 and in retail parks across the borough.
They have led to injuries, and have even been linked to deaths, said officers.
Between 2022 and 2023, there were at least sixteen fatal crashes, police said, of which seven involved “driving traits typically seen by those attending the car meets”.
In another incident on January 28, a boy racer allegedly sped around a roundabout at the Innova Science Park, hitting a pregnant woman, said Met Inspector Richard Lee.
Even ‘static’ meet-ups which did not cause injury were causing enormous disruption, he said, with the “intolerable” noise from the backfiring exhausts sounding like “a war zone”.
Met Police Sergeant Mark Wells added: “The stunts and racing presents a real risk of injury and death to the people standing close to the vehicle.
“Many of these stunts are performed by inexperienced drivers, cheered on and encouraged by the crowd to go faster and faster.
“The disturbance caused to the local community is huge, the noise created by these stunts will travel considerable distances, over half a mile.
“The sound of the exhausts is comparable to a shotgun continuously firing in a built up area.”
Police said some of those attending are “manipulated” by organisers, who sell merchandise and car modifications, and do not realise they are attending a dangerous event.
The events are hard to police, as they are often organised at short notice on social media and WhatsApp, with some turning up just to film the races, the court was told.
Enfield has previously witnessed a series of fatal crashes linked to racing, including the deaths of three men on the North Circular in 2013 in a “cat and mouse” race, for which three were later jailed.
In another case, a 26-year-old mother was killed while travelling above the speed limit in a convoy with her boyfriend on an Enfield dual carriageway in November 2018, the court was told. He was later jailed.
The council applied for the order after hearing how a previous Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) had failed to clamp down on the issue - with 30 car meets taking place in just under a year.
The interim injunction was granted by the High Court on Friday.
