Parishioners have suffered from cross country motorcycle misuse of byways within our Parish for many years, but this abuse has increased considerably since Covid 19 began. In particular, SLAN 8 (a bridleway called the Harroway), SLAN 10 (a restricted byway called the Hollow) and SLAN 17 (a footpath above Berwick Lane) have seen a lot of motorcycle activity of late, frequently in numbers of 2 to 14 motorcycles at a time. Both byways by law exclude use by motorcyclists. For ease of reference, a map is shown below with the location of the three byways in question.
The bikers drive fast and ignore parishioners who attempt to remonstrate with them. On occasions the motorbikes have no number plates showing and the identity of the riders is hidden by their crash helmets and visors. Recently, a motorcyclist drove over the foot of a lady who lives in a nearby house when she attempted to intercept them, and her husband was punched or kicked in the stomach. The police were called and took statements, but the bikers had gone.
Parishioners living near the byways have attempted to get registration numbers (if visible on the motorcycles) but this often is not possible as the bikers appear suddenly and drive fast. Some are aggressive and some have apologised and turned back on being questioned.
The Parish Council arranged a meeting on 20 August for parishioners living near the relevant byways to hold discussions with Mr Alex Howson from Wiltshire Council Rights of Way Department and PCSO Jonathan Akehurst from the Amesbury Police Station. PCSO Akehurst has recently been appointed as our local police representative.
The meeting was most useful. Mr Howson outlined the law relating to byways and PCSO Akehurst told the meeting how he would implement it when incidents occurred. Both promised to tackle the problem with vigour. The Rights of Way Department will erect more signs on Parish byways showing the restriction of use placed on the byways in question; both will patrol more frequently and, once a pattern emerges, be on site, attempt to apprehend any culprits. The Parish Council will maintain a log of misuse so a pattern might be identified which can be passed to the police for better targeting.
The Parish Councillor leading on this project on behalf of the Parish Council is Jeremy Broad.