Car cruise ban expanded to stop dangerous driving

A ban on car cruising has been expanded to cover the whole of a Leicestershire village.

North West Leicestershire District Council said groups of up to 100 drivers had been gathering in Castle Donington for about eight years.

A public spaces protection order (PSPO) was approved in 2021 allowing drivers to be fined £100 if they gathered within a defined area but the council said that had caused them to "scatter" to other nearby roads.

On Tuesday, the council's cabinet approved a new three-year order covering a wider area.

It will be enforced by Leicestershire Police patrols but also an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) camera and a CCTV camera funded by the council.

The authority said the order was intended to tackle nuisance and dangerous driving such as racing and road blocking as well as littering and noise disturbance from participants' car stereos.

Under the new order, spectators who gather to watch car cruises can also be fined.

A report to the cabinet said: "Leicestershire Police has carried out numerous operations and has been successful in issuing several fixed penalty notices under the Covid-related legislation.

"However, this method is not deemed to be a sustainable or cost-effective solution."

Councillor Tony Saffell, who lives in Castle Donington, told the cabinet meeting: "It [car cruising] has been a huge problem over the last few years but the police have been clamping down on it.

"The order appears to have been working but spreading it to the rest of the village will only help because they [car cruisers] have been scattering a bit and this will help tighten it up."

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