Police use e-motorbikes to hunt rogue off-roaders
Peter Harris/BBCPolice are using high speed electric motorbikes to help tackle off-roaders plaguing housing estates.
The £16,000 bikes have been issued to the Cleveland force with chiefs claiming they will be more agile and suited to catching criminals and nuisance riders.
They've been part funded by two housing associations - Thirteen Group and Beyond Housing - to help officers deal with issues and activities causing distress to their tenants in parts of Teesside.
Supt Paul Richardson said: "A lot of the challenges we have are in streets and narrow footpaths and these new e-bikes match the capability of the criminals, almost putting us on a level playing field."
He described the machines as "really fast" and "more agile than conventional police bikes".
"They are silent, so we can use them at night as well; we're not disturbing residents during operations."
The Stark Varg electric motorbikes can reach speeds of around 70mph.
Rachael Crooks, from Beyond Housing, said: "When the police approached us, we were desperate to provide the funding because we have customers telling us all the time about the noise, disturbance and intimidation the criminal use of off-road bikes causes."
Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner Matt Storey said: "Word is getting around and some of these people on bikes are realising the police have got them.
"I think it's a really interesting tactic."