TWENTY illegal motorbikes bikes taken off Corby's streets

A police team trying to put a stop to Corby’s issues with illegal off-road motorbikes have hit a major milestone in their operation.

Officers from Corby’s Neighbourhood Policing team launched Operation Pacify in the spring after calls from members of the public who reported dangerous misuse of the bikes in residential areas. The problem was brought into sharp focus in May when a rider was seriously injured in Studfall Avenue after coming off a dirt bike into the path of an SUV.

Now police have confirmed that they have removed more than 20 illegal bikes from the streets of Corby since April.

After cops managed to seize two illegal bikes in one day on Sunday (June 12), their total now stands at 21 seized in just ten weeks since the beginning of Operation Pacify. Thirteen people have been summonsed to court, two stolen vehicles have been recovered after being used for crime and one pushbike has been returned to its owner.

Sunday’s success saw two men arrested for several offences and one summonsed to court.

PC Mark Walker, who has been leading the operation for Northamptonshire Police, said: “It was a double hit with two bikes that we have been tracking for the last few days causing a nuisance being seized from an address in Corby.

“One of the bikes, an orange KTM, was confirmed as being stolen from Newark.”

In the past two weeks, officers have recovered a scooter that sounded like a ‘sewing machine’ which had been causing issues on the Kingswood estate, as well as a Sifam bike and a blue motorbike that had both been driven in an anti-social manner. One had an expletive scrawled on its rear aimed at the high-profile police team that have been targeting the bikes.

Police received more than 200 emails from members of the public who have spotted various bikes around Corby and officers are still keen to hear from anyone who may have any idea where bikes are being stored. You can email [email protected] with information.