A TINY UK town has been dubbed Britain’s ‘boy racer capital’ where wannabe Vin Diesels in souped up cars hold late-night races on quiet country roads.
The noise from roaring engines is so loud that it’s keeping children up at night – and making locals want to move away.
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Boy racers can be heard constantly revving as late as 2am, performing wheelies and flying past homes around the streets of Southampton.
They hold nightly meet-ups involving both motorcycles and cars, and spend hours doing loops of the neighbourhood late at night.
Southampton resident, Roger French, has lived in Woolston for over 20 years.
But as the disruption from boy racers and their anti-social behaviour has escalated recently, his family has decided to pack up their lives in Southampton and relocate.
For Roger, Southampton had always been a quaint little city perfect for raising his son.
In the last few years though, noise from the revving of motorcycles and cars zooming through the streets has become constant.
Roger said: “They just run them around, race them into the ground and burn them out in the local woodlands.”
“This road is supposed to be 20 mile an hour and I can guarantee they are doing about 60, if not sometimes faster.”
Living on a prime street for the boy racers that is straight, but narrow and reaches the peak of a hill, Roger has seen several accidents occur.
Just months ago, a car was flipped upside down after it hit a corner too fast, and another motorcycle that rammed into the side of a van.
“When they’re going that fast and driving that recklessly, you will have a fatality, and I think that will happen sooner rather than later,” Roger said.
He linked the issues to the new housing development around Centenary Quay which came in 2022.
Roger added: “Before that it was never a problem, we never even noticed crime in Woolston.”
Located on the same road is Poulten’s Garage, a highly regarded vehicle repair service in Southampton, who often get complaints regarding the motor racket.
One staff member said: “It’s nasty for us, because obviously we work here, they go past and some people think it’s us, but we’re inside.
“They’re popping so loud using illegal exhausts, and yes, we have some cars here that are quite sporty but we don’t need to do that.”
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Local resident, Shaun Wyeth, who lives in a completely different area of town is also kept up at night from the noise of the racers.
He said: “I can hear they do one hour at a time, they’ll stop and then go round and do another hour, it’s quite loud.
“Police in a car can’t catch them, when they’re going too fast up those little tiny roads.”
“Those 20 miles an hour signs need to be bigger,” Shaun added, as some can even be spray painted over.
But Shaun has almost gotten used to the sound of it every night.
Other residents are not so tolerant of the noise.
Several petitions have been set up by locals calling for immediate action from police and Southampton City Council to address the “dangerously loud and illegal motorcycle activity…especially during the quiet hours of the night.”
One which has now accumulated nearly 200 signatures says: “It’s deeply affecting the well-being of our community.
“Children are waking up in fear, some even becoming paranoid and anxious.
“Vulnerable people, including the elderly and those with mental health conditions, are being pushed to the brink.
“The stress and sleep disruption are constant and unbearable.”
Over 100 sign petition to stop illegal motorbike racing
SOUTHAMPTON locals have set up a petition to tackle “illegal” motorcyclists terrorising their streets
The petition is calling for action from police and Southampton City Council.
It claims that despite multiple reports over the last year, no real action has been taken to mitigate the risks.
Sam, starter of the petition, writes: “We demand a solution.
“Whether that’s regular police patrols, noise cameras, road-calming measures, or community safety intervention – we can’t go on like this.
“Our community deserves peace. We deserve sleep. We deserve to feel safe in our own homes.”
Another one primarily focused on the Weston Shore area writes: “Night after night, I find my children being startled awake by the incessant roar of biker engines along Weston Shore in Southampton.
“This situation has become unbearable not just for my family, but for countless others who are tormented by the noise pollution created by bikers riding irresponsibly along our streets.”
Megan Rudkin, who started the petition, wants Southampton City Council to implement greater measures like increased police patrols during nighttime hours, as well as more clear signage indicating noise regulations and potential fines for violations.
Chicanes have been installed around the city with speed road signage, but these have actually made the occurrence of incidents even more frequent as drivers disregard them.
Southampton City Councillor, Christie Lamber, said: “It was deeply disappointing to hear about the recent issues involving dangerous motor racing in our city, and we are actively working with all our partners to address these issues head-on.
“To this end, we have implemented traffic calming measures across the city as part of our broader strategy to combat reckless driving, and we are collaborating closely with the police to identify and take action against individuals responsible for these selfish and senseless driving offences, and we intend to enforce the law to the fullest extent to safeguard our community.
“Our Youth Justice Service also works hard to prevent youth crime and antisocial behaviour by providing support, intervention, and rehabilitation for young offenders to help these young offenders make positive choices and reintegrate them into the community.”
Mike, who has run his burger truck situated on the Weston Shore carpark where the motorbike meets happen, says racing on the roads along the water been going on for over 40 years.
But the racers that come nowadays are different.
“We used to get 300 bikes down here for a meet on Friday nights, and they were good as gold, never had any trouble with all those bikes together.
“This lot, little groups of maybe a dozen, are just trying to impress one another seeing how high they can get their front wheel up.
“Little kids and their toys I’m afraid.”
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