Firms 'let down' by police response to car meets

Business owners on an industrial estate say they feel "let down" by police over the what they claim is a lack of response to illegal car meets on the site.

They said events in which cars were skidded in circles round a ring of fire had been taking place at Lyall Court, Flitwick, Bedfordshire for over three years, with the latest taking place last Friday evening.

Grant Palmer, managing director of bus company Grant Palmer, said when nearby residents ed police to report the events, officers did not turn up, adding: "We have been massively let down."

Insp Janine Graham, from the North Central Bedfordshire Community Policing team, said: "When we receive intelligence that meets may be planned, we put additional resources and patrols in place."

"The police are completely and utterly incompetent now," said Mr Palmer, 54.

"This is not just happening here, it is happening everywhere and what are the police doing about it in general?

"Ultimately, they [the car drivers] are committing a crime and it needs to be enforced."

He said spectators' cars had completely blocked the roads outside the bus company's gates.

"My biggest concern is the emergency services cannot get to the estate in the event of a fire," he added.

Simon Cooper, 58, who runs Cooper Plastics Machinery, said: "They kick up loads of dirt, broke windows, made a ring of fire and leave bits of tyre everywhere, and we have to sweep it up.

"When you see it on CCTV they are almost hitting spectators who have to jump out of the way.

"Someone is going to get killed before too long."

He said cars were being damaged and having to be towed away.

Nigel Colclough, 61, who runs a fabrication company on the estate, claimed it could take a death before the police took action.

He said that while automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras were installed two years ago, he did not believe the information they gathered was acted upon.

Insp Graham added: "Even if we're not able to attend the incident immediately, we work to collect evidence such as CCTV to identify those involved.

"Last month, we saw a third fewer incidents involving nuisance vehicles in central Bedfordshire compared to the same time last year, along with a higher police attendance rate."

Mr Colclough said he felt "let down" as firms paid a lot of money in business rates and ed the local economy, adding: "We are not getting anything back.

"The police need more , [to] do less paperwork and more actual policing, like it used to be."

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