MEASURES are to be installed to tackle anti-social behaviour on a site plagued by boy racers.

Smeaton Close, Colchester, on the Severalls Industrial Estate, has been the target of disruptive behaviour for a number of years.

But now speed bumps could be installed by Essex County Council in a bid to end the area’s woes once and for all after years of debate.

It is a move Mile End councillor David King has welcomed after campaigning for eight years to make the site safe.

He said: “Introducing speed bumps is a really helpful proposition. The county council knew people were going up and down at speed in the area but now they won’t have the same pleasure going over a rocky road.

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Read more: Teen gets road ban after Severalls car meet crash

“There has been some debate on how we can tackle this, but long-lasting asphalt bumps are easy to maintain and will slow the traffic.

“It’s a pretty simple solution but they’re limited to what they can do. I’ve suggested perhaps time-limited gating or extra CCTV but this all comes at a cost.

“I can’t see what else can be done apart from make an effort to make the area less attractive for this kind of behaviour.”

In 2020, a teenager was banned from driving for a year after losing control of his car and crashing into a crowd at a cruising event in Smeaton Close on Boxing Day, 2018.

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Footage posted online of the meeting, which was being filmed on a drone, showed a car driving around the bend in the road where several businesses are based.

The driver, Edward Roblin, of Grove Road, Tiptree, looked to be attempting a “drift” manoeuvre which sees the car’s tyres momentarily leave the road as they negotiate the corner.

The car then disappeared out of shot before bystanders are seen rushing around to try to help people who had been hurt in the incident.

At the time, police said two women, both aged 20 and from the Halstead area, and 20-year-old man from Clacton, were taken to hospital and treated for their injuries.

Roblin, 19, later admitted dangerous driving at Colchester Magistrates’ Court and was banned from driving for a year at Chelmsford Crown Court.

Mr King added: “It has astonished me how long it has taken to get a response to dealing with this site. It has been evident for years there is a risk to safety from this behaviour.”