Court cases against car meet drivers collapse

Court cases against a number of drivers accused of attending car meets at a notorious hotspot for "cruises" have collapsed.

The motorists were all due to appear at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court last week to answer charges relating to an unauthorised event at the Euroway Trading Estate in Bradford in October 2023.

But a solicitor representing Bradford Council said the authority would not be offering any evidence against them and all of the cases were dismissed.

The council said it "remains committed to prosecuting such cases" and would look at the failed prosecution and “learn for future cases".

Nine men had been charged with failing to comply with a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) which was introduced in 2019 allowing the council to take action against anti-social driving.

It covers offences such as deliberately revving engines late at night and attending cruises on streets or in car parks.

The meet the court case related to was said to have taken place on 15 October last year on Wharfedale Road, near the M606, which is part of the industrial estate.

The defendants had come to the street from Bradford, Wakefield, Ossett, Pontefract, Knottingley and Leeds, Bradford Council said.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the council's solicitor was asked during the hearing why no evidence was being offered and they responded: “There have been deficiencies with evidence relating to the way police originally handled the matter."

A Bradford Council spokesperson said: “PSPOs are a useful piece of legislation which some councils choose to use, without the need for police input, to prosecute anti-social behaviour.

“Our legal team regularly reviews council enforcement powers as well as evidence in preparation for these cases and, on this occasion, the team took the decision not to pursue the case.

“The police weren’t operationally involved in this particular case. This does not change the fact that the council remains proactive on prosecuting PSPOs.”

Councillor Matt Edwards, who has long called for more action to stop racing and car meets on the Euroway estate, said it was "a really disappointing development".

"I’ll be speaking to the anti-social team and the portfolio holder to make sure this is only a temporary setback," he said.

“Over £10,000 in fines have been issued by Bradford Council as a result of illegal street racing on Euroway, which only goes to show how serious the issue was here.

“It’s taken repeated requests from councillors to get regular enforcement action, and we will be making sure the legal team at Bradford Council get this sorted.”

West Yorkshire Police confirmed that meets on the trading estate had become "regular" and that patrols were conducted at peak times to prevent gatherings. CCTV has also been installed.

In January, the council said 123 drivers had been issued with fixed penalty notices in relation to two meets at the location in October 2023.

In May, two men were ordered by magistrates to pay more than £1,000 after they were caught at a Euroway meet in July 2023. They were taken to court after failing to respond to the original fines handed to them.

Their cars were among 18 vehicles identified from CCTV of the gathering and their owners were given £100 fines.

In June 2021, 150 cars were seen being driven dangerously at a cruise on the estate and a BMW was abandoned after police broke up the event.

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North or tell us a story you think we should be covering here.