02-05-2025
WATCH: Police issue terrifying footage of South Wales car meets
Gwent Police's Operation Wheeler, led by the Roads Policing and Specialist Operations (RPSO) team, is aiming to highlight the dangers and deter people from organising and attending illegal events.
The initiative has already resulted in multiple arrests and convictions.
Footage released of illegal car meets in Newport (Image: Gwent Police) Between January 2020 and January 2025, 382 illegal car meets were reported, with 144 of these taking place last year.
The operation, which began in July 2024, has already seen significant results.
One person has been convicted of causing serious injury by dangerous driving following a collision at a car meet, and another is under investigation for dangerous driving after a collision in Newport.
Other offences include fraudulently obtaining an insurance policy by failing to disclose modifications, and failing to identify drivers of vehicles that were driving dangerously.
Three people have been arrested for causing public nuisance and aiding and abetting dangerous driving or motor racing, and all have been issued with a community protection warning relating to organising car meets.
Four people have been arrested for dangerous driving, three of whom have been charged, while one remains under investigation.
Four further community protection warnings have been issued relating to organising car meets.
Eight insurance policies have been cancelled, eight vehicles seized, and 10 people charged to court for motor racing on public roads.
Thirty Section 59 warnings, which are issued when vehicles are found to have been used to cause distress, alarm or annoyance, or used in an anti-social manner, have been issued.
Thirty Traffic Offence Reports have been issued for Construction and Use offences, which concern the condition a vehicle is kept in or something that has been done to a vehicle which makes it unsafe.
Forty-one Section 172 requests (Requirement to Provide Driver Details) have been issued, 16 of which failed to reply and have been summoned to court for failing to identify a driver.
The team has also issued 52 Operation Wheeler warning letters, directed towards both organisers and attendees of these events.
The letters outline the serious risks associated with street racing and dangerous driving and emphasise the potential consequences of engaging in such activities.
Sergeant Mitchell Harris, who is the force lead for this operation, said: "Operation Wheeler is about tackling the dangers that can come from illegal car meets and street racing, from the impact on other road users to noise pollution and the links to other criminal activities they can have.
"Illegal car meets are not just a nuisance; they pose serious risks to public safety and community wellbeing.
"Our goal is simple – we want to put the brakes on illegal car meets, street racing, and anti-social and dangerous driving and we're working proactively with our partners to achieve this.
"If you have any information about illegal car meets, report it.
"By working together, we can help keep the roads of Gwent safe for everyone."
Car meets and street racing can attract hundreds of people and vehicles at a time, and there has been an increase in reports of illegal car meets over the last five years across Gwent.
Those attending park their vehicles in dangerous places and cause obstructions in the road to enable drag strip style racing to take place - with spectators lining the roads either side.
Racing on the public highway and dangerous driving has been the cause of many serious and fatal road traffic collisions across the UK, and police say they will use all appropriate legal powers available to prevent the occurring.
Officers are working closely with other local agencies, including councils on the initiative.
To report illegal car meets and street racing, or anti-social and dangerous driving, call 101 or send police a direct message on Facebook or X.
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