Dear BBC’s "Inside Out…"

When the BBC’s West Midlands edition of its regional programme ” Inside Out ” broadcast its ” Speeding Bikers ” piece on Monday 9 September, it made everyone who saw it sit up and take notice. For all the wrong reasons. We want you to help us put them straight.

For more on this story see the next issue of MCN, out September 18.

The 15-minute package, presented by Steve Berry contained wildly inaccurate boasts from riders claiming to have hit 230mph on public roads. Not only was this taken at face value by the researchers it was also broadcast and became the core of the story.

Inspector John Timmis, the top cop in charge of policing Warwickshire’s roads and fetured in the programme, had cautioned the producers against taking these claims seriously, but was ignored.

Berry, having derided the lawlessness and irresponsibility of these ” speeding bikers ” of the title then illustrated the power of a superbike by racing a Ferrari at Bruntingthorpe.

Unfortunately this story has now been picked up by a number of newspapers, with an already inaccurate story further distorted in a sad case of tabloid sensationalilsm – ” 230mph stunts – speed junkies risk life and limb for high speed thrills. ”

You can e-mail the show on www.bbc.co.uk/feedback/?mailto=insideout.westmidlands@bbc.co.uk. The programme’s website is currently running a rather lame response to the e-mails it has already received. That can be read on:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/westmidlands/prog_01/index2.shtml