Appeal: quad and pit bikes ridden in Gainsborough

We are asking people to come forward with reports, photographs, and videos of people who might be riding quad and pit bikes in a dangerous way in Gainsborough.  

We have received a small number of reports that youths have been acting in an irresponsible and dangerous way on the roads and footpaths around various locations in Gainsborough, but our understanding from conversations on social media is that there have been more incidents than we are aware of.

When an incident is only discussed on social media this is not an official police report and we will be unable to take action; often this might be on private groups chats and we won’t even see it.

Without that crucial intelligence of when, where and what has happened, we are unable to investigate.

We are calling on the community to take pictures and videos of this activity if you witness it, and share it directly with the local Neighbourhood Policing Team. Please only take pictures of videos if it is safe to do so.

Inspector Mike Head from the local Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Thankfully, we have not had any reports of injuries, but reckless behaviour like this always leaves that possibility. The safety of our community is of utmost importance; we live and work here too, and we know how important it is not to feel any fear of the streets you walk every day. We will do everything we can to identify the people responsible and take action.”

Where we do know about incidents, we are working closely with anti-social behaviour officers and housing officers at West Lindsey District Council to take robust action against those that are identified. We are also working with ACIS as behaviour like this can potentially put housing tenancies at risk. Bikes can can be seized and criminal action taken against the rider.

The Leader of West Lindsey District Council, Councillor Trevor Young, added: “There’s a lot of concern regarding instances of people, some of them believed to be young children, riding quad bikes and pit bikes at speed in and around Gainsborough. This behaviour is not only putting their lives in danger, but the lives of other members of the public.

"West Lindsey District Council urges anyone who has any information relating to these incidents to contact Lincolnshire Police as soon as possible. The sooner police receive information, the sooner the police can start work to identify the people involved to get these incidents stopped and ensure that no further disruption is caused in the local area.”

If you can help, there are a number of ways to get in touch:

• Call 101 and make a report – always dial 999 in an emergency;
• Email [email protected] 
• Or report anonymously via Crimestoppers at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or by calling 0800 555 111.