Police Pelted With Objects As They Swoop On Illegal Birmingham Car Rally
21 January 2019, 08:20 | Updated: 21 January 2019, 08:21
West Midlands Police officers have been pelted with fireworks and coins and other objects as they broke up an illegal car rally in Birmingham.
A 28 year old man from Smethwick was arrested and dozens more face being taken to court after officers swooped in on Nechells Parkway
on Sunday 13 January.
It's after two weekends of successive 'car cruising' in the city.
The arrested man was held by police on suspicion of breaking a city-wide car-cruising injunction and allegedly speeding at 70 miles an hour in a 40 zone.
After making an initial court appearance, he's now due back in court next month.
Details were also taken of more than a hundred people suspected of being involved and five vehicles were seized during the operation.
#WATCH | Our officers were out last Sunday and took the details of over 100 people.
— West Midlands Police (@WMPolice) January 20, 2019
Anyone taking part in illegal car cruising, even watching are in breach of the injunction.
Don't be tempted to get involved.
Read more here https://t.co/eAep0tyzEQ pic.twitter.com/mz4jW3YmUT
One of those cars is understood to have been stolen from a hotel car park in Coventry earlier this month.
Birmingham Police Superintendent Ian Green, said: "Many of those detained are understood to be spectators....people who were lining the
streets hoping to watch street racing.
"The Injunction is also clear that anyone watching street racing, encouraging it or promoting it, maybe through social media, is also guilty of
breaching the order and can be prosecuted for contempt of court.
"Motorists, businesses and residents in areas affected by ‘car cruising’ have told us they are fed up with this type of dangerous, anti-social
activity.
"This type of behaviour on our streets isn’t fun, it isn’t a game…it can have fatal consequences. And any motorist prepared to put people’s
lives at risk by racing on our roads need to accept they may well end up in jail."
The High Court Injunction covers all of Solihull, Birmingham and the Black Country and bans people from taking part in car cruising.
