Car cruisers are being warned they will not be tolerated in Essex and action will be taken to tackle them.

In recent months there have been incidents in Basildon, Harlow, Canvey and Chelmsford with some groups coming from as far away MiltonKeynes, Bedford, #Maidstone, and Manchester.

Sergeant Simon Willsher, from the Essex Police Roads Policing Unit, said: “We have no issue with true car enthusiasts who meet in sensible locations with the landowners consent with roadworthy cars and are respectful to the local community.

“What we will not tolerate are those who use our roads as race tracks and disrupt the local community.

“We will deal with those people robustly including fines, court appearances and seizures.

“Racing and cruising events pose a real danger to those taking part and those watching and there is a very real possibility someone could be seriously injured or, even worse, killed.”

Officers have been carrying out a great deal of work to tackle these types of events including the use of marked and plain patrols using a combination of engagement, education, and enforcement, working with local businesses and residents, as well as identifying those involved from video evidence following the events.

Following one cruising event in Harlow in June one person was arrested and 34 drivers received a court summons, conditional offers, and educational courses.

Meanwhile, nine drivers have been summoned to court following an incident in Basildon in September.

Sergeant Willsher says the community can play their part too: “I believe communities around Essex find this kind of behaviour as unacceptable as we do and their help could be invaluable to identifying those involved.

“If you have any information about a cruiser event or have dash cam or video footage of them taking place I need you to call us.”

If you have any information about cruising events, or have dash cam footage of them, please call us on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.