Fears potential injunction could end car meet ups

A group which organises a popular gathering event for car enthusiasts with modified cars says it will be "absolutely devastating" if their group has to stop.

While the static car meet hosted by Defined Ridez, at Stafford Park in Telford, Shropshire, is legal, and is supported by West Mercia Police, an injunction would ban the organisation of it.

It comes as police in the county are targeting anti-social driving and car cruising, where drivers with noisy modified cars race around residential areas.

A spokesperson for the force said car cruising was unlawful "and we regularly attend car cruising meets across the force area to deter those who plan to race".

Reece Fenton started Defined Ridez 20 years ago: "We've always been really worried that the High Court injunction is going to land in Telford.

"All across the Midlands there are High Court injunctions in Wolverhampton, in Cannock.

"They are all closing in on Telford. Part of an injunction is it isn't just the physical vehicle being there of the gathering of vehicles, it also covers the organisation."

Such injunctions forbid certain aspects of car driving and give police the powers to arrest anyone breaching them.

Councils in the Black Country and Staffordshire have already brought them in in their areas after complaints about street racing.

But the group are keen to distance themselves from the "boy racer" and anti-social driving image.

Parmi Singh, 30, from Telford, attends the events with his modified BMW E36 M3 Coupé Dakar.

"I've had it for about five years, my dad used to have one as a kid so it's only right that I had one now," he said.

"My car is my escape from work and normal life."

Singh said he had nothing to do with the anti-social driving side as something like boy racing, compared to this event, were "two completely different scenes".

"This is a static car event, its my pride and joy," he added.

Tia Fenton, 25, who is Reece's daughter and now mainly organises the event, admitted anti-social driving had been increasing "a lot" over the past couple of weeks at the event.

She said some drivers turned up drifting - where the driver oversteers a car to drive sideways round corners - or racing or making burnouts - when they keep a vehicle stationary while spinning its wheels.

"I'm not sure why, maybe its the nice weather and people want to show off," she added.

"We don't condone any of that stuff here, we are a static only meet."

A spokesperson for Telford & Wrekin Highways team said they were "aware of ongoing issues relating to car cruising" in parts of the borough and continued to work closely with West Mercia Police.

"A borough-wide High Court injunction is a significant legal option that must be proportionate, evidence-based, and typically reserved for situations involving persistent public nuisance, disorder, or risk to public safety," they added.

"Our focus remains on targeted interventions in identified hot spots."

Reece Fenton said: "We're not naughty boys, we do try and discourage anti-social behaviour.

"Keep it on the track, people don't like hearing it around the streets, it's not nice for everyone else, you got to think about other people.

He explained that West Mercia Police regularly attended their events and "they do support us a lot, they very regularly bring their cars down and show off their kit".

"We want them here as again it deters bad behaviour," he added. "It spreads a good message."

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