Saved from the crusher | Seized off-road bikes to be used in community projects to encourage legal riding

West Midlands Police have seized two off-road motorcycles as part of an operation in Walsall, which will now be used in community projects to encourage safer, legal riding.

The non road-legal pit bikes were captured as part of Op Adhesion, which saw neighbourhood teams in Brownhills and Blakenall working in partnership with the National Police Air Service (NPAS) in a fixed wing plane. Traffic and off-road bike teams from West Midlands Police were also in attendance alongside members of Walsall Council, the Canal and Rivers Trust, and Sustrans charity volunteers.

The two seized bikes will now be used in maintenance workshops, hoped to encourage skills in new riders and promote legal motorcycle riding. A third road legal bike was captured during the work for having no insurance, with the owner forced to prove its legality before it being returned for a fee.

“We realise these bikes are often driven dangerously on roads and green spaces causing significant upset to our local communities,” Sergeant Ben Killeen said. “Some are stolen and being used to commit crime such as theft, burglary and other related offences.

“We have carried out a number of these off-road bike operations over the last year,” the officer continued. “We understand the nuisance they cause to people’s lives and that is why we are doing all we can to tackle the problem.

“We continue to run these operations and will be targeting people who use these vehicles in an anti-social and dangerous way.”

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Off-road officers also arrested two shoplifters on Wolverhampton Road West in Willenhall during the action.

“Walsall Council is proud to work in partnership with West Midlands Police to deliver this important operation and take positive action to seize vehicles and crackdown on anti-social behaviour,” Leader of Walsall Council, Cllr Garry Perry said.

“We want to reassure our residents that the illegal use of off-road bikes is taken seriously. There’s a lot of good work being done to tackle it and keep people safe from this reckless and often unsafe behaviour, which has such a negative effect on the quality of life in our communities.”