A 'terror' has returned to their neighbourhood, and 'this time it's completely out of hand'

Police are investigating new claims masked off-road bikers terrorising a neighbourhood in Leigh. Residents say motorbikes with no registration plates and riders with balaclavas are running amok in streets around Butts Mill and Dootsons Park.

Scores of riders were reported to have turned up at the mill for an event. Police have confirmed they attended, but no arrests were made. As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) two months ago, machines with an estimated value of more than £200,000 have already been seized by Greater Manchester Police.

Gill Edwards who runs a Facebook group for concerned residents around Timperley Lane and Alderley Lane said the bikers turned up at about 1.30pm on Sunday. “It appears that some of these bikers are coming from Salford,” she said. “But there are others from the local neighbourhood as well.

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“It’s got completely out of hand, and we’re fed up with it.” The residents the LDRS spoke to were unwilling to have their names published. One man in his 80s said: “They came round here in the afternoon doing wheelies and all sorts. Someone’s going to get injured.

“It’s been going on for a years, but you feel sorry for the young children playing football [on Dootsons Park]. A couple of months ago, the bikers churned up all the grass.”

He said that the culprits are making good their escape down the nearby tow path of the Bridgewater Canal before they can be caught by police. Another resident said: “The problem is also that parents are buying their children electric bikes for Christmas and it becomes a free-for-all.”

Leigh South ward councillor Kevin Anderson said he had been in contact with the police about the problem. He said some of the videos posted on Youtube show motorbikers ‘riding in a way I would not condone and that would cause distress’.

“I have been in contact with the Leigh neighbourhood policing team and asked them what their approach is. The bikes do not appear to have registration plates, which would lead you to conclude they are probably not insured.

“The riders are a danger to themselves and other people. I think they are now on the police radar.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “Officers are investigating following reports of anti-social behaviour on Butts Lane in Leigh on Sunday December 15. “No arrests have been made as of yet, but enquiries remain ongoing by local officers.

“Anyone with information about anti-social behaviour in their area should please let us know by contacting us on 101 or LiveChat.”