The tradition of Southend seafront car meets can be accommodated safely, a councillor has said following a Bank Holiday event which saw one motorcyclist’s bike confiscated for pulling a wheelie ‘dangerously close’ to pedestrians.

On the evening of Monday, August 30, a planned car meet was held in Southend – with a similar event occurring simultaneously in Chelmsford.

Groups of motorists gathered in vehicles and on motorbikes to ride along the Western Esplanade in a planned meeting which had been given the green light by Essex Police.

The police force said most attendees had driven “legally and safely”.

However, one motorcyclist was stopped by officers who spotted the daredevil rider pulling a 'prolonged wheelie dangerously close' to pedestrians and other road users.

Officers confiscated the motorbike on the spot; another driver was also said to be set to lose their car after being caught on CCTV doing donuts.

A spokesperson for Essex Roads Policing said: “Thankfully most people last night [August 30] enjoyed the night legally and safely however one rider chose to pull a prolonged wheelie dangerously close to pedestrians and other road users so had his bike seized, another driver doing burnouts will face the same after CCTV analysis.”

Kursaal ward councillor Matt Dent said seafront car meets were a town tradition which could be accommodated ‘safely’ but would always require police enforcement to root out a minority of anti-social drivers.

“There is a long history of vehicle-based events along the seafront,” Cllr Dent said. “Overall, I think most are attended by people who behave respectfully. When there are issues, when residents are being put at risk by reckless and dangerous behaviour, then intervention is required.

“I think recently there have been a couple of occasions were the police and the council have had to act to prevent such events where it was felt they would be dangerous. The car meet at the weekend however, while there was some police action with vehicles confiscated, was largely well-observed.

“I think its about making sure that people can do what they enjoy within the parameters of the law and this is a tradition which can be accommodated safely. It’s something that has been going on for years and years.

He added: “It will continue to require police monitoring because there are always going to be a few badly behaved people, but the overwhelming majority are safe and responsible.”