Avoid The Christmas Crush

The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Mavis Smitheman, started a crushing machine at an event imed at warning people not to buy illegal off-road bikes.

The crushing event at Wythenshawe Forum showed parents at first hand what will happen if they buy their children illegal off-road bikes for Christmas - the vehicles may be confiscated and crushed.

Manchester City Council deputy leader, Councillor Jim Battle said: “These bikes are being ridden with no regard for local residents. They are noisy, disruptive and dangerous and we are determined that those who continue to flout the law will be dealt with.
Paul Goggins said: “The City Council and Greater Manchester Police have been working together to rid the streets and open spaces of illegally ridden go-peds, mini motos and quad bikes and they organised the bike crushing, as part of the Woodhouse Park Respect Action Neighbourhood, to discourage people from buying them as Christmas presents.

“The simple message is DO not buy these bikes as Christmas presents. If you do and use your bike illegally, then the police will confiscate it and crush it.”
Adrian Hopkins, Neighbourhood Policing Team Inspector for Wythenshawe, said: “We receive a lot of complaints from Wythenshawe residents about illegal off-road bikes. Not only are they a disturbance to the community but riding off-road motorbikes illegally is highly dangerous for the public and for those riding the bikes.

“Illegal off-road bikes were recently highlighted as a local priority for Wythenshawe and the Neighbourhood Policing Team will continue to work with Manchester City Council to crack down on them in a bid to improve the quality of life for local residents.”

The Respect Action Neighbourhoods are based on the successful Respect Action Weeks where the council, police and other agencies worked together alongside the community to tackle low level crime and anti social behaviour. The RANs follow the same principle as the RAWs but run for between six and ten weeks.