A police crackdown on "reckless" bikers reaching speeds of 110mph at a weekly race night on the A127 led to more than 20 drivers being cautioned.
Madness - two biker fans dash across the central reservation as bikes fly past Picture: ANNA LUKALA
The operation targeted the popular meeting at the Dick Turpin pub where up to 300 people have been gathering every Tuesday.
A minority of bikers use the event to race each other along the dual carriageway and some have been recorded doing wheelies at speeds of 88mph.
Last night some fans ran across the main road to stand in the central reservation.
Officers from across Essex patrolled roads in eight unmarked police vehicles.
The pursuit vehicles drove up and down the A127, and monitored hotspots near the Festival Leisure Park and Mayflower Retail Park.
The busy traffic led to slower speeds than usual, but police still stopped two riders for dangerous driving - one for performing a wheelie behind a police car.
There were also nearly 15 speeding offences, a number of illegal number plates and exhausts, an arrest for possession of offensive weapons and an arrest for failure to provide identification.
As the crowd began swelling to its maximum at 9.30pm, police disrupted the meeting with a high-profile appearance in the pub car park.
Sgt Darren Lewis, of Laindon Traffic, said: "We hope that will be enough to change the riders behaviour."
Published Wednesday July 21, 2004
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