WATCH: Car cruisers use Notts streets as "personal race track" as police crack down on dangerous and antisocial street racing

Boy racers can be seen hanging from car windows as they perform doughnuts and wheelspins while others speed along the streets of Nottinghamshire.

Nottinghamshire Police launched an operation to target anti-social driving following a surge in illegal street racing and car meets.

The focus is on specific hotspots, such as the A57 in Worksop and Junction 27 of the M1 in Annesley.

The force launched Operation Wheelspin in October 2024 as part of a coordinated county-wide response to car cruising, which can involve drivers meeting to race at high speeds, performing reckless stunts, or other antisocial behaviour, such as setting off flares and fireworks.

New data reveals that offences have decreased by 20 per cent since the operation was launched.

Officers are tackling the issue head-on by using a two-pronged education and enforcement approach with marked and unmarked cars to deter and clamp down on nuisance drivers and keep residents safe.

Along with the A57 in Worksop, and Junction 27 of the M1 in Annesley, hotspots for unlicensed car meets, which cause road safety, antisocial behaviour, and noise concerns, also include Daleside Road in Nottingham.

Officers from the force’s neighbourhoods and roads policing unit are out each week patrolling these areas and the wider road network across Nottinghamshire.

Positive action has so far been taken against 181 drivers, which can include seizing vehicles, reporting motorists for court summons, or issuing traffic offence reports and Section 59 notices.

Traffic offence reports cover a wide range of motoring offences such as driving without a seatbelt or with worn tyres and can result in a fine or driving licence points.

A Section 59 notice places Police National Computer markers on vehicles and individuals, meaning that any similar behaviour in the next 12 months can lead to prosecution and vehicles being seized.

In total, the licence plates of 1,401 motorists seen racing or at car meets have been recorded by officers to improve the force’s intelligence picture and identify drivers who participate in future antisocial driving.

They risk prosecution and having their vehicles seized if their behaviour continues.

One antisocial street racer whose own dashcam footage recorded him driving at high speeds has been banned from the roads.

Ravinder Singh was seen racing along Daleside Road, near Sneinton, in a red BMW by plain-clothes officers at around 9.30pm on September 29, 2024.

The 22-year-old claimed he wasn’t racing and that he was in Nottingham to visit his friends when he was pulled over by officers.

After completing checks on the car, officers discovered the vehicle already had a Section 59 marker, which meant that the BMW was seized as it had been driven antisocially more than once in 12 months.

When officers seized and analysed the footage from Singh’s dashcam it showed him accelerating harshly, speeding, and going through three sets of traffic lights that were on red.

Singh, of Popes Lane, Bournville, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and driving a vehicle without a front registration plate when he appeared at Nottingham Magistrates’ Court on January 20.

He was given a 12-month driving ban and was ordered to pay £130 in costs.

Operation Wheelspin is also pioneering an educational approach to tackling car cruising in Nottinghamshire.

A new diversionary course has been developed on a trial basis in Ashfield, which acts similarly to a speeding awareness course and is delivered by Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Officers are working closely with Ashfield Council to enforce their Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), which bans antisocial driving across the district.

Motorists who breach the PSPO are issued with a £100 fine and are offered a reduced penalty if they accept a place on the educational course, which outlines the law and the consequences of crashes and dangerous driving.

Failure to attend the course results in the reinstatement of the full fine.

Those who go on to complete the course but continue to reoffend face the risk of further prosecution, a civil injunction and a criminal behaviour order.

PC Abigail Green, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Nottinghamshire is not a personal racetrack and we have a zero-tolerance approach to antisocial driving.

“Stunts, collisions, and excessive speed by often young and inexperienced drivers can result in life-changing injuries and fatalities on our roads.

“Our robust response sends a clear message that motorists from across the county and wider region who travel here to race will be prosecuted.

“Innocent members of the public are on occasion left to pick up pieces from collisions and costly insurance claims.

“We will continue proactively patrolling our neighbourhoods and road network to keep communities safe.

“Analysis from our Prevention Hub, which is responsible for providing data to assist with strategy development to prevent crime, has identified prominent areas and times where racing is taking place, allowing officers to respond quickly and disperse antisocial drivers.

“Operation Wheelspin has an escalating punitive response from fines and warnings for first-time offenders to criminal behaviour orders for repeat offenders.

“Our county-wide response removes nuisance drivers from the roads and makes Nottinghamshire a hostile and undesirable racing location.

“I would encourage car enthusiasts who enjoy driving to ensure they do this safely and legally at approved sites.”

Amy Goulden, head of community safety and engagement at Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service, said: “Our behaviour change course is built on evidence from the National Fire Chiefs Council and other fire services that are helping people understand the risks and impacts of dangerous driving, to themselves and others.

“By working with Nottinghamshire Police and Ashfield District Council to identify and support young people who are car cruising and give them an opportunity to learn and to change, we hope to reduce serious injuries as well as support the local community to address the antisocial impacts of car cruising.”

Charles Edwards, Ashfield Council’s executive director – Operations, said: “We know how worrying vehicle nuisance crime can be for residents and we have heard these concerns and acted.

“We want to do everything we can to make Ashfield a safer place to live and work.

“This order gives police more powers in Ashfield to deal with this kind of behaviour and give residents more peace of mind.

“We will act when this is reported to our teams.

“This is a warning to anyone taking part in this behaviour – we will not tolerate it and you will be fined.”