Op Brookdale: six arrested and bikes seized following police operations in St Helens and Kirkby

We arrested six men and recovered three off road bikes in two separate operations in Kirkby and St Helens this weekend (Sunday 28 February).
 
At around 12.50pm on Sunday police received initial reports that an off road bike was being ridden in an anti-social manner along Valley Road, Kirkby. 
 
Three off road bikes were then seen by police being ridden in the East Lancs Road area. 
 
Officers from the Roads Policing Unit attended the area and were able to track the bikers with the support of the National Police Air Service helicopter

One of the vehicles was identified as stolen and police arrested six men, all in their 20s, on suspicion of theft of a motor vehicle. All have since been released under investigation. 
 
In a separate operation, on Crank Road,  St Helens, at around 12.30pm, Roads Policing Officers pursued two off road bikes following prior intelligence from the local community.
 
Officers tracked the vehicles to the Sandy Lane area and managed to safely seize both bikes. 
 
Both male riders received court summons for driving without a licence or insurance. 
 
This activity formed part of Operation Brookdale, the ongoing Merseyside Police response targeting the illegal and anti-social use of off-road bikes across Merseyside.
 
Inspector Rob Budden said: “Our communities are safer places every time of one of these bikes is seized and the activity over the weekend demonstrates our ongoing commitment to taking scrambler bikes off our roads. 
 
“We will continue to take proactive action against those involved in the criminal use of scrambler bikes on our roads and public spaces and will do everything possible to locate and seize suspected stolen or nuisance bikes and arrest those who are putting the safety of others at risk.

"Such behaviour cannot and will not be tolerated on the streets of Merseyside and our response reflects how seriously we take this issue.
 
“Operation Brookdale is our ongoing commitment to eradicating the harm that the illegal and anti-social use of off-road bikes cause to the communities in Merseyside, and we will not stop until the problem is completely gone. Working closely with partners, we continue to have success in seizing bikes.

“We are continuing to do everything we can to stop incidents like this from blighting our communities, so if you have information on these bikes, where they are being stored, where they are regularly being ridden, and what vehicles are transporting them – let us know, report online, call Crimestoppers, even send a message to us on social media. We will keep taking action whenever we can to remove dangerous vehicles from the streets."
 
Anyone with information on scrambler bikes can contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also call 101 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously