Fury over local bike gang ‘terrorising' St Mary's Cray neighbourhood
The concerned resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, told the News Shopper that the neighbourhood is being bombarded by the 'constant sound' of motorbikes 'whizzing round and around.'
They said: 'There are at least three vehicles involved – one is a quad bike, and the other two are motorbikes.'
The inspector for Bromley Neighbourhoods at the Metropolitan Police, Stuart Baker, said officers are 'actively responding' to concerns regarding the behaviour and an investigation is underway to identify those involved.
He explained: 'We know this sort of activity is really concerning for local residents and want to reassure them that we will take a hard stance against offenders.'
The resident, who lives near St Pauls Cray Primary School, claims that the group are 'completely destroying' the nearby country park and making the grounds 'inaccessible and unsafe' for other members of the community.
They added: 'The group seem to think that the local open parks are there for their own personal use.
'There are always children playing in the streets - It is a matter of time until a child is killed'.
There have been numerous complaints reported on the council-run website Fix My Street, but the resident claims nothing has happened to stop the offenders.
The resident said: 'This has been going on for years, and we are all sick of this anti-social, selfish and dangerous behaviour.'
On Wednesday (February 26), Bromley Council responded to one of the reports on Fix My Street saying it is "continuing to investigate and working to resolve this report.'
The News Shopper approached Bromley Council for a comment on the matter, but it did not respond.
Bromley Neighbourhoods Inspector, Stuart Baker, added: "An investigation is underway to identify those involved.
'This involves identifying those responsible and using enforcement powers to seize such vehicles and target those responsible.
'We are also working with partners in the local authority and housing associations to target the locations where this takes place.
"We remain determined to combat this type of behaviour, and I will continue directing patrols to deter these crimes wherever they are taking place.
"Those who commit such behaviour are known to their local community and I would urge members of the public who know who these people are to pass this information to the police via 101 or Crimestoppers if they wish to do so anonymously."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Woman thought volunteer officer could ‘kill' her during alleged sexual assault
A young woman who alleges she was sexually assaulted by a volunteer Metropolitan Police officer told a court she thought he could 'kill' her. Amersham Law Courts heard that James Bubb, who now identifies as a woman named Gwyn Samuels, assaulted the alleged victim multiple times while she was between the ages of 12 and 18. The trial heard they met on video chat site Omegle in 2018, when the complainant was 12 years old and the defendant was about 21, before meeting in person for the first time at a Christian festival a few months later. On Thursday, the complainant said she was 18 when Bubb assaulted her at the defendant's studio flat in Chesham. The defendant is charged with assault by penetration in relation to the complainant, relating to the alleged assault in 2024. Of this alleged assault, prosecutor Richard Milne asked: 'You said the word that he had 'raped' you, can you explain what aspects of the sexual activity between you were in your mind rape and why?' The complainant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, replied: 'The fact that I didn't consent, I couldn't consent with the gag in my mouth, I didn't feel there was any way to consent that.' She went on to say that she froze during the alleged attack which she thought could 'ruin my chance of fertility for life, and potentially kill me'. The complainant said she had told the defendant she was five years older when they first started speaking online, had sent them photos of herself wearing her school uniform but was 'scared' they would reject her if she revealed her true age. The alleged victim's mother told the court that she could often hear a 'male voice' coming from her child's bedroom at night when the complainant was about 11 to 12. She clarified that she thought this voice belonged to 'a man'. The trial previously heard that Bubb allegedly sexually assaulted the complainant on Shepherd's Bush Green while she was visiting London with her parents to celebrate her forthcoming 13th birthday. Of this trip, her mother told jurors that her child had 'disappeared' for a period while the family were in a shopping centre buying her birthday presents, and that the complainant's father said he thought she had 'gone to meet a friend'. 'She didn't come back, we were meant to board the train to go home and I'd waited, we'd waited for half an hour, maybe an hour, and I began to get really panicked,' she said. After the child returned, her mother said she seemed 'very subdued' on their journey home and did not tell her about the alleged assault until 'much later on'. The defendant, wearing a white shirt and black cardigan, dabbed their eyes and appeared to be crying at points during the hearing. The 27-year-old has denied one count of rape in relation to one complainant, and two counts of rape, two counts of sexual activity with a child, one count of assault of a child under 13 by penetration, one count of rape of a child under 13 and one count of assault by penetration in relation to the other complainant. A not guilty verdict on one of the rape charges in relation to the second complainant was returned on Wednesday after the prosecution offered no evidence. All charges are alleged to have taken place between January 1 2018 and April 2 2024. The defendant, of High Street, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, denies all charges. The trial continues.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- Yahoo
Woman arrested on suspicion of assaulting emergency worker and security guard
A woman has been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a security guard and an emergency worker, Metropolitan Police said. The 22-year-old was detained on Wednesday and was also arrested on suspicion of affray, possession of an offensive weapon, and possession of Class B drugs. A police statement said officers were investigating a 'complex' set of circumstances, including a separate incident in which a man entered a home in the Canary Wharf area of London after allegedly being followed by a group of men in the street. However, police said he had not been charged 'as our initial investigation has not identified any offences'. Footage began circulating on social media of a man accused of entering a house after being told 'to go back to the hotel'. A protest was taking place outside a nearby hotel housing asylum seekers. A statement from the Met said: 'We are aware of videos circulating online relating to an incident that officers were called to at 18:07hrs on Wednesday, 13 August at Marsh Wall, E14. 'We understand a man entered a property through an open door, having been followed by a group of men in the street. 'The man has not been arrested at this time as our initial investigation has not identified any offences – we understand this is distressing for the occupants. 'In a separate incident following this, a 22-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of common assault against a security guard, possession of an offensive weapon, affray, possession of Class B drugs and assault on an emergency worker. 'A section 35 dispersal order was put in place in the vicinity of the area and a 28-year-old man and a 57-year-old woman were arrested for breaching the order. 'This is a complex set of events and we are working hard to investigate and understand what happened, reviewing officers' body-worn video and any other video footage.' Another video posted on TikTok shows a group of onlookers questioning the police about why the man had not been arrested.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump deploys National Guard to D.C. as he places city ‘under federal control'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced he would deploy the National Guard to Washington, D.C., following through with recent threats to take federal control of the nation's capital after recent upticks in youth crime. Addressing reporters from the White House briefing room on Monday morning, Trump said he would invoke Section 740 of Washington's Home Rule Act allowing the president to take emergency control of D.C. police for 48 hours, which can then be extended to 30 days once Congress is notified. In doing so, the Metropolitan Police Department will be placed under federal control as Trump attempts to crack down on recent reports of juvenile crime. 'Something's out of control, but we're going to put it in control very quickly,' Trump said. 'You want to have safety in the streets. You want to be able to leave your apartment or your house where you live and feel safe in going to a store to buy a newspaper or buy something, and you don't have that now.' Section 740 would allow Trump to use the MPD for federal purposes until the expiration of 'such emergency' or when Congress passes a law with a specific date, meaning lawmakers would need to authorize an extension past 30 days. Trump suggested that Congress, currently controlled by Republicans, would pass a law to strengthen federal statutes to crack down on crime while accusing Democrats of being 'weak on crime.' The National Guard will be deployed to D.C. sometime within the next week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Monday. Trump also announced that his administration would begin removing homeless people from their encampments across the city and taking them elsewhere, although it's not entirely clear where they will go. 'We're going to be removing homeless encampments from all over our parks, our beautiful, beautiful parks, which now a lot of people can't walk on, they'd be very, very dirty,' Trump said. Several Republican lawmakers, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, have repeatedly threatened to take control of Washington, D.C., and place it completely under federal jurisdiction. Those calls were revamped last week after a prominent ex-member of the Department of Government Efficiency was assaulted by teenagers earlier this month. Lee has used that assault to push for a vote on his BOWSER Act that would repeal Washington's self-governance. 'This attack on a young man who came to Washington to help fix America's government is simply the latest outrage in a series of assaults and murders that have made our nation's capital a national embarrassment,' Lee told the Deseret News in a statement last week. 'We should pass my BOWSER Act, which revokes DC Home Rule, as well as bills preventing the DC Council from avoiding accountability through secret meetings. I will be working with my GOP colleagues and President Trump on every avenue possible to restore a safe, clean Washington Americans can be proud of.' Lee praised Trump's decision in a post on X, thanking the president for 'addressing the lawlessness in DC' and attaching the hashtag: #FederalizeDC. Thank you, President Trump, for addressing the lawlessness in DC#FederalizeDC. Utah Sen. John Curtis similarly approved the decision, telling the Deseret News in a statement that D.C. should 'be a place where every American feels safe and welcome.' 'Sadly, during my time in office, I've seen growing violence and a troubling decline in public safety for both my staff and visitors,' Curtis said. 'I'm hopeful that new measures will help restore safety, respect, and accountability — building a community where families can thrive and everyone can walk its streets without fear." Edward Coristine, a 19-year-old famously known for his role with DOGE, was attacked by a group of 10 juveniles in an attempted carjacking on Aug. 3, according to a D.C. police report obtained by the Deseret News. Police officers who observed the attack attempted to chase the juveniles and managed to arrest two 15-year-old suspects, both of whom reside in Maryland, according to police. Trump posted about the attack on Tuesday, sharing a photo that showed a bloodied Coristine lying in the street, seemingly after the attack. The president decried the incident and called for a change in city law to charge minors as adults in cases of assault. The latest threats highlight an ongoing challenge for D.C. officials, who have been working for months to crack down on rising rates of youth crime. Since the beginning of 2025, juveniles have made up more than 50% of arrests related to carjacking, according to D.C. police. A majority of those arrests are made up of teens who are 15 and 16 years old. Trump specifically named the D.C. neighborhood of Navy Yard in his announcement to federalize D.C. law enforcement. The MPD announced on Sunday evening it would establish a juvenile curfew zone in Navy Yard this week as it continues to crack down on youth crime. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser has acknowledged the recent trends, even going so far as to create a special police unit in April tasked with responding to juvenile crime. Still, crime rates in the city overall have gone down over the last year, according to statistics from the MPD. Violent crime, for example, has decreased by 26% compared to this time last year. Local lawmakers have pushed back against Republicans' efforts to take over D.C., accusing Trump of wanting to disenfranchise the city — instead calling for statehood for the district. 'Even if crime in D.C. weren't at a historic low point, President Trump's comments would be misguided and offensive to the more than 700,000 people who live permanently in the nation's capital,' Eleanor Norton, a nonvoting member who represents D.C. in Congress, said in a statement. 'D.C. residents, a majority of whom are Black and brown, are worthy and capable of governing themselves without interference from federal officials who are unaccountable to D.C.' Democrats in Congress denounced Trump's move to federalize the D.C. police, calling it a ploy to distract from his policies and the ongoing drama surrounding Jeffrey Epstein. 'On January 6, rioters attacked the U.S. Capitol and assaulted the police while Trump stalled on calling the National Guard. Now, when a former DOGE staffer is assaulted, he suddenly scrambles to call in the Guard and even tries to federalize local police,' Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., said in a statement. 'This is not about public safety. Crime is down in DC. It's a desperate attempt to distract from the Epstein files and yet another unprecedented and dangerous misuse of our military.' Rep. Jamie Raskin, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee, told Axios he would introduce a resolution later this week to end Trump's emergency order — although it's unlikely to pass in a Republican-controlled Congress.
