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Flitwick: Safety concerns raised over illegal car meets

CCTV show cars skidding around fire at Bedfordshire meet

Business owners in an industrial estate have raised concerns over illegal car meets being held on the site.

Flitwick Mowers, in Bedfordshire, captured CCTV footage on 13 January of a group of people standing in a ring of fire as cars drove around the flames in circles.

Gordon Tyler, who owns the business, said: "There's gas pipes here, petrol here, it's dangerous."

Bedfordshire Police has been approached for comment.

Mr Tyler said: "They believe they are experienced drivers, but it only takes one of them to go wrong and they will be [driving] into the building."

Ampthill Fire Station, which is run by Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, confirmed it had received reports at about 23:00 GMT of a "small car fire" at the Flitwick Industrial Estate.

Nicola Haseler/BBC Damage at Flitwick Industrial EstateNicola Haseler/BBC
Councillor Heather Townsend said the illegal car meets cause "distress to local residents"

It said attending the scene had meant firefighters were diverted from a serious road-traffic collision.

When the fire crew arrived at the industrial estate the fire had already burned itself out.

'Distress'

A spokesperson said: "We ask members of the public to think before their actions, which potentially tie up emergency services when they are required to attend other incidents."

Heather Townsend, a councillor for Central Bedfordshire, expressed concern over wasting the time of the fire services and the damage done to business property.

She said: "These car meets damage private property and cause a huge amount of distress to local residents."

Nicola Haseler/BBC Gordon TylerNicola Haseler/BBC
Gordon Tyler believes it is only a matter of time before a driver's mistake could lead to a serious incident

Another business owner, Simon Cooper, said: "They are down here for hours on end, I can hear them from the other side of Flitwick at times."

He is concerned "somebody is going to be killed".

Mr Cooper said: "If you went out in the normal street and lit a fire, something would be done about it."

Gordon Tyler People standing in a ring of fire during a car meetGordon Tyler
Gordon Tyler's CCTV footage captured people standing in a ring of fire

Festus Akinbusoye, the Bedfordshire police and crime commissioner, said: "Intelligence is being gathered and actions are being taken.

"I have also made recommendations on ensuring Bedfordshire Police officers are able to use all possible powers available to them."

He added that, over the last few years, car meets have "led to fatalities in Cheshire, the West Midlands, and Oxfordshire".

"[In 2019] 19 people were left badly injured in Stevenage at a car meet," he said.

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