Police probe joyriding stunt clips on internet

Local & National

Websites are monitored in bid to track down video culprits

Friday, February 01, 2008

By Clare Weir

Police were today poised to investigate after a number of videos showing hair-raising car stunts and a criminal evading arrest in Londonderry were posted on the internet.

A user of the site YouTube has posted a number of clips of cars doing " doughnut" manoeuvres in front of cheering crowds in the Galliagh area - many labelled with the tag "joyriding" and "shanty louts" .

There is also a three-minute video of a teenage joyrider escaping from police after he was apprehended following a car chase.

The culprit, who later appeared in court in Derry, is seen running from the scene in handcuffs after PSNI officers were surrounded by a hostile crowd.

Other videos show cars driving across the grass at speed and flying over verges at Ballyarnett Country Park, popular with children, families and horseriders.

Another shocking segment shows a white Ford "drifting", or going forwards on two wheels, and skidding around a roundabout in the city as other shocked motorists waiting to come on to stay back for their own safety.

And a passenger in another clip leans out of a sunroof as the driver repeatedly makes high-speed handbrake turns in front of a large crowd.

Inspector Stevie Haslett, from the roads policing unit, said that video-sharing websites could now be monitored in a bid to track down the culprits and added that the "glamorisation" of such behaviour could be exacerbating the problems.

"We will be keeping an eye on such websites, which are helpful in gathering evidence, but this alone won't result in conviction because crimes need to be reported and offenders identified," he said.

"We are in close contact with a number of websites and groups run by car enthusiasts and we have a good relationship with them. Working in tandem we can tell other young drivers that this sort of behaviour is illegal and unacceptable.

"There is a trend to film these stunts and drivers may be tempted to try more and more daring stuff. But there is no glamour in this sort of driving, people are putting their own and other people's lives at risk.

"Someone could be killed and we will not take that lightly."

Inspector Haslett said that a number of prosecutions are in the pipeline relating to drivers "racing" along Strand Road.

He also vowed to look into reports from residents that young drivers are using a stretch of the new Skeoge Link road near Galliagh as a race area.