MORE inventive ways will have to be found by officers to tackle the dangerous boy racers plaguing Canvey, according to the police and crime commissioner.

The reckless cruisers are continuing to cause a nuisance for islanders by tearing up and down Canvey’s main streets at breakneck speeds late at night, revving their engines and honking their horns into the early hours.

Police patrols were escalated to try and tackle the problem and deter cruisers from racing on roads, such as Long Road, Eastern Esplanade, Canvey Road and the £18.5million Roscommon Way extension. Despite their efforts, the boy racers are continuing to cause problems.

Now, NickAlston, whowas elected as Essex’s first police and crime commissioner in November, says officers are working hard to try and find more imaginative methods of dealing with the issue.

He said police regularly scour social media sites to stay ahead of the game and find out when and where drivers are congregating.

Mr Alston is also exploring the drastic measure of introducing graduated licences for young drivers in the first few years of passing their test, with the support of the RAC Foundation.

The scheme would require new drivers to sit a minimum number of lessons before they are allowed to sit a driving test. On passing they would then face restrictions, such as not being allowed to drive at night, during the first few years of having a licence.

Mr Alston said: “They really are a danger and I am particularly worried about the safety of spectators who go along in large numbers to watch.

“Officers are aware of the problem and have been patrolling the area, but they seem to have learned how the police operate, so we are trying to find more imaginative ways to address this.

“Essex Police has a good social media team who are investigating.

“Things like reducing speed limits is not the answer. These people already drive to excess so they are not going to start observing speed limits because we reduce it from 50mph to 30mph.”

“I am encouraging officers to be more inventive to crack down on this. Graduated licences might be a route to take, so you only get a full license when you have learnt to use the road safely.”

The ideas were raised by Mr Alston in a meeting with Canvey councillors Ray Howard and Dave Blackwell.

The trio also discussed the prospect of seeing drivers prosecuted by Castle Point Council’s environmental health department for noise nuisance.

Mr Howard said: “If you open your windows, all you can hear is them racing around at night.

“The problem with Canvey is all the sea walls make it like a basin, so it just echoes louder.

“Residents shouldn’t have to have this inconvenience. I support graduated licences and even think we should try and get the environmental health team to take them through the courts for noise pollution, as well as dangerous driving. At least that will show them how seriously we are taking this matter."