POLICE have rebutted a councillor’s claims that they are not doing enough to tackle problems caused by off-road biking around Darlington.

Earlier this week, independent councillor Kevin Nicholson raised a number of concerns in an email to Chief Inspector Sue Robinson, of the Darlington Neighbourhood Policing Team.

In it, he said it was “clear that illegal riders go unchallenged in Darlington and there is a developing culture amongst riders to that effect.”

Cllr Nicholson said he had been inundated with complaints from those he represents in the Eastbourne ward who were frustrated and had concerns about safety, especially in relation to bikes mounting pavements at speed.

He said Operation Endurance, which aims to tackle the issue, was "ineffective" in dealing with off-road bikes as he appealed for Durham Constabulary to rethink their approach to the issue.

Cllr Nicholson said asking the community to email the force with intelligence was not enough and suggested that police use tactical off road bikes to respond to illegal riders, adding: “I fail to see proactive policing in our area.

“I’m aware that others in the town disagree with me when I push for police to respond in person to off road bikes on the grounds of health and safety, but for me it’s more about the police showing a presence and providing community reassurance.”

The councillor is planning to organise a public meeting in the ward to allow residents to share their frustrations.

In response to his claims, Neighbourhood Inspector Chris Knox admitted that the issue of illegal off road biking was difficult to tackle and said the force was working to come up with innovative solutions, calling again on the public to provide intelligence about bikers and where they store their vehicles.

He said: “We are not ignoring any area of the town, we have a policing team in the East serving Eastbourne and other areas around there, with dedicated officers.

“If we get calls, we respond to them and try where we can to conduct patrols.

“This issue is a difficult one to sort but if people phone and tell us there’s someone flying around, we will attend when there’s an officer available to attend.

“We can’t pursue them as an accident will be caused and someone will be seriously hurt – we can’t put the public at risk, or those riders, or the police.

“We are always looking at innovative ways to deal with this but this is not just a policing issue, it’s a community issue and we need help.

“If you have evidence of an offence being committed, please report it.”