Call for action to drive Wednesbury scrambler riders away
Fed up residents have called for a street to be made into a dead end to stop scrambler and quad bike riders making their lives a misery.
People living in St Pauls Road in Wednesbury are angry about the noise from the vehicles using the road to access waste land and are worried about the safety of their children who play out.
There have also been problems with fly-tipping in the road, with furniture, clothes and tyres among the items dumped. Residents are urging Sandwell Council to restrict the use of the road to residents and emergency vehicles only.
One resident, a mother-of-two who asked not to be named, said: "We want the road closed to vehicles who aren't residents or the emergency services. I don't know how the council would do it. It's up to them to sort it out.
"We obviously don't want the whole road blocked off but something needs to be done." Residents say the scrambler bikes speed recklessly down St Pauls Road, which is behind Wood Green Academy, in groups of two or three at evenings and weekends to access the waste land. There have also been sightings of 4x4 vehicles travelling down the road with trailers on the back filled with scrambler bikes.
A few years ago Sandwell Council put a mound of dirt at the end of the road to stop travellers accessing the site but residents now say riders are using it as a ramp.
The mother added: "It has been a nightmare down here. There is the noise issue. There is the safety issue. We don't want them coming up and down here all the while."
Wednesbury councillor Elaine Costigan is backing the residents. She said: "I can understand why they are upset because it has been going on a long time."
Neighbourhoods councillor Ian Jones said the authority was investigating ways to resolve the issue.
