Fury over boy racers

The young drivers, often in "hot" hatchbacks, have been observed using Sea Road, between Littlehampton and Rustington, as a racetrack, with a system of flashing headlights to signal when the coast was clear.

They have also been seen sweeping into Littlehampton's East Green car park at high speeds in broad daylight, sending families with children dashing to safety, and playing loud music on their in-car stereos until the early hours.

People living in the area have met police to voice their anger and concern and officers are now taking action against the boy racers, booking 20 of them in one week alone.

They have been served with section 59 orders, for "causing alarm, distress or annoyance" by their driving. Anyone caught a second time could have their car seized, with the ultimate sanction of the vehicle being sold off by the police or crushed as scrap, if a release fee is not paid.

Residents have complained that the problem has been made worse by Arun District Council leaving open all night an overflow parking area at East Beach, which is closer to their homes than the main car park.

Sgt Ade Webb, of Littlehampton police, said the strength of feeling among people living in the South Terrace area had been highlighted by more than 50 turning up for a meeting by the car park at fairly short notice at the end of the working day.

Even while they were waiting for the meeting to start, a car flew into the car park at high speed, with day-trippers and other people around. The driver was immediately spoken to and given a section 59 order by the sergeant.

"We have had numerous letters from the public and they have told me this kind of behaviour has been going on until two, three or four in the morning.

"Officers are now parking in discreet locations and when we see people go past whose driving is unacceptable, we are issuing the section 59 orders. The 20 we have issued so far have all been against young men below the age of 20, some of them coming from Worthing or Bognor.

"We are taking this seriously. Although the orders don't cover matters such as the loud music, we will be checking cars for other motoring offences, too."

Residents are playing their part in the campaign against the boy racers by keeping diaries, logging incidents and number plates of offending cars.

One resident told the Gazette: "These hooligans are tearing around in their cars when there are families with children and people walking their dogs across the car park. It's been going on for years and it's so dangerous.

"It's not unusual for two or three of them to turn up in the middle of the night and start playing their music at high volume."

A spokesman for Arun said that, in the short term, it was likely the overflow car park would soon be closed, as there would be less demand with the nights drawing in and the season coming to a close.

However, he pointed out, merely closing the car park could lead to the problem being driver elsewhere and in any case, in the summer months, there was pressure from other people for car parking in the evening, and from businesses, too.

With the opening next year of the new beachside cafe, and the car park being used more, it was anticipated this would put a stop to it being abused.