POLICE were kept busy during a day of action in Fagley at the weekend, tackling a number of ongoing issues in the area.

Operation Flare was conducted in Fagley on Sunday, with officers proactively tackling issues in the area, particularly regarding illegal and anti-social vehicle use.

A number of arrests were made, and drivers were reported and notices issued for problems with their vehicles.

Two people were arrested for drink driving, with one of them also arrested for driving while disqualified.

Five or six quads were engaged in a pursuit after failing to stop after racing around the estate, with one rider eventually arrested in the woods off Gypsy Lane for dangerous driving and failing to stop.

Five motorists were reported for driving without insurance, and two people were reported for not wearing seatbelts and having defective tyres.

One car was reported for producing excess smoke, and five cars were reported for tax-related issues.

One person was reported for summons for using a mobile phone while driving, three drivers failed to stop, two vehicles were seized and two motorists were handed Section 59 notices for anti-social use of a motor vehicle.

Police from Bradford East Neighbourhood Policing Team are back in Fagley today, and members of the public are advised to approach officers and speak to them about any issues or concerns they have as they patrol the estate.

Issuing a video appeal through social media, PC Steve Hall, Eccleshill ward officer, said: “We’re out and about speaking to people in the area and we know from doing this previously that one of the main concerns is anti-social vehicle behaviour in Fagley. We also know that people feel isolated and not supported by the police - we’d say that’s not the case. We are here, we are going to be present. People say that it’s a haven for anti-social vehicles.

“We’d say that’s not the case. We are going to be conducting proactive patrols in the area - we are going to be doing that regularly and consistently.”

He added: “One of the biggest problems in Fagley generally, when speaking to the public, is that they might tell us things verbally, but we don’t get the sufficient intelligence to progress matters. There’s various ways to phone the police - it’s not just 999, it’s not just 101. You can text us, phone us anonymously, so we can get information because unless we receive that information then it’s not happening. We need to know about it.”

Today's action included an arrest for a warrant, an anti-social behaviour notice issue and an uninsured vehicle seized. 

Speed checks were also carried out. 

Councillor Geoff Reid (Lib Dem, Eccleshill) said: “People get quite depressed with it all. Obviously I encourage people to report stuff to police - you’ve got to persuade them it’s worth doing. We have to keep on top of things in Fagley, otherwise it just deteriorates.”

His fellow ward councillor Brendan Stubbs said people are “worn down”, particularly with the issues caused by quad bikes, and it may be time to look at a different way of tackling the problem, including looking at whether an official space could be created where people could use them.

He said: “We have to start to question whether there’s something else we should be doing - whether there’s another way of tackling this problem.”