Police crackdown on car cruising and speeding between Hucknall and M1 proves successful

A successful police crackdown on car cruisers between Junction 27 of the M1 and Hucknall has led to 34 speeding tickets being issued.

Officers took to the streets in Ashfield focusing on the area in a bid to clamp down on concerns raised by residents.

On Sunday night (10 October 2021), officers handed out 34 speeding tickets after two speed vans were deployed as a deterrent to those driving recklessly.

A number of drivers were also moved on from the area.

It comes after Ashfield District Council extended the public spaces protection order (PSPO) for a further three years prohibiting car cruising on land at junction 27 of the M1.

The order is in place to stop those driving at excessive speed, aggressive acceleration, stunts including drifting and wheel spins, playing loud music, driving in convoy and sounding horns.

The local policing teams are continuing to target the area after concerns were raised and are encouraging people to abide by the speed limits and think about the safety of other drivers.

Sergeant Olivia West, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "We recognise the issue of speeding and car cruisers and are proactively targeting the areas which seem to be a favourite haunt for reckless drivers.

"Last night we sent out two speed vans in an effort to clamp down on speeding drivers in these areas.

"It successfully led to us issuing over 30 tickets to those who decided they didn't want to stick to the speed limits and we also moved several riders on from the area.

"There is never an excuse for speeding and we will do everything in our power to stop reckless drivers and keep other road users safe.

"And we will prosecute those found to be driving recklessly or in an anti-social manner and their vehicles could also be seized."

Councillor Helen-Ann Smith, cabinet member for community safety and crime reduction, said: "The car cruising restriction has proved successful in the past three years at tackling car cruising and associated behaviours and we will continue to review our orders to ensure we have additional powers to tackle these types of problems.

"Car cruising is dangerous, not just for those involved but members of the public using the roads safely. The PSPO acts as a warning to those that think its ok to act in this anti-social way, we will not tolerate lives being put at risk and fixed penalty notices will be issued to those caught.

"As a council we pride ourselves on listening to residents and finding solutions to issues that negatively impact peoples' lives. This is just another example of this."