Families living on millionaires’ peninsula fear for their lives after invasion of boy racers driving souped up
- Exclusive Sandbanks, in Dorset, is ‘being used as a race track by petrolheads’
Published: 12:21, 1 January 2024 | Updated: 12:24, 1 January 2024
Families living on a millionaires’ peninsula in Dorset fear for their lives because of an invasion of boy racers driving souped up cars.
The exclusive Sandbanks – dubbed Britain’s Monte Carlo – is ‘being used as a race track’ where petrolheads come screeching down the neighbourhood in their kitted out cars almost every night.
Fed up locals cobbled together enough cash for a speed camera for the 30mph road but was thwarted by the council when officials said it would be too costly to run.
They want a larger police presence to put a stop to speeding cars spoiling their idealistic and peaceful lives amid a recent horror smash[2] in which a 17-year-old girl was left with ‘serious injuries’.
The girl was a passenger in a black Mercedes that smashed into a grey BMW on Banks Road.
The seafront facing homes can sell for as much as GBP13.5million and the picturesque location has attracted the likes of celebrity chef Rick Stein and Premier League[3] manager Harry Redknapp.
An aerial view of the exclusive Sandbanks in Dorset – dubbed Britain’s Monte Carlo – is ‘being used as a race track by petrolheads’
Sandbanks in Dorset features some of the most expensive real estate in the country and has attracted celebrities such as chef Rick Stein and Premier League manager Harry Redknapp
A retiree who lives opposite the recent crash told The Times [4]cars come ‘screaming up this road almost every night’.
‘It’s rather sad that they don’t seem to be able to stop it, that is what the police are supposed to be there for,’ he said.
‘It takes a kid being trapped in a car and having to cut the roof off and suddenly there are multiple police cars, two fire engines and a helicopter.
‘As a residents association we raised money to put a speed camera and the council said you can’t do that, it will have to be maintained. The only thing we could put up was a flasher telling people the speed limit.
‘This place is just nice and peaceful and quiet and I would like it to stay that way.’
Well-heeled local residents have complained for years about hot rods loudly revving their engines, doing laps and pulling doughnuts.
One community leader previously compared the streets to Monte Carlo during F1 and warned someone could die if the authorities did not take action.
A tech worker and Sandbanks resident of a quarter of a century says it has got worse since the coronavirus pandemic and recently witnessed a car zooming down the road at speeds of 80mph.
Police and emergency services attend the scene of a crash in Sandbanks on Boxing Day in which a 17-year-old was ‘seriously injured’
The girl was a passenger in a black Mercedes that smashed into a grey BMW on Banks Road, where past residents have included former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp
Matt, 50, said: ‘I’ve got two dogs and walk them at night and sometimes don’t feel terribly safe. More and more folk are talking about it.
‘It will only be a matter of time before there is another crash.
If they don’t kill themselves they are going to kill someone else.’
Terrified parents are even telling their children to walk near the walls and avoid one notorious bend out of fear they will end up getting seriously hurt.
In 2021, video footage shot by a local resident showed several modified motors tearing around a roundabout at speed while dozens of fans watch from the kerb.
David Morley, the chairman of the Sandbanks Community Group, said at the time that cars had smashed a planter and damaged a fence at the yacht club.
He said: ‘It has been a continuing problem over the last 18 months or so. Between 30 to 40 cars tend to gather in the car park late at night without warning.
‘They are souped-up cars with lower suspensions and modified exhausts. They are quite expensive-looking cars, they aren’t old bangers.
‘They parade their cars and show them off and rev up their engines, do doughnuts and play loud music.
‘Then a small number of them will speed around the one-way system around the headland of Sandbanks.
‘They speed around Sandbanks, using it like a Monte Carlo race track and it is downright dangerous.
‘We have had one car hit the roundabout and smash a planter and one car go through the fencing by the North Harbour Yacht Club.
‘At the speeds they are going at, if somebody comes out of their driveway or is walking they dog along the narrow pavements there is going to be a very unpleasant accident.
‘I reckon they get up to 70mph there in a completely residential area.
It is extremely dangerous.’
In 2021, video footage shot by a local resident shows several modified motors tearing around a roundabout at speed while dozens of fans watch from the kerb
Residents speaking at the time said owners them for a spin on the one-way ‘circuit’ on the peninsula
But any hopes of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council stepping in soon appear to be dashed after the deputy leader said none of the roads ‘meet our criteria for further measures’.
Councillor Millie Earl said: ‘Factors that may be considered during such a review include the frequency of road collisions in the area and their severity and cause, plus the geometry of the road and the impact of any engineering required to promote lower speeds.’
She added: ‘With the current financial pressures facing all local authorities, we must also be certain we are spending taxpayers’ money in areas of BCP where it will be most effective in reducing casualties.’
Inspector Nick Lee, of the Poole neighbourhood policing team, said officers regularly patrol known hotspots.
‘As well as posing serious risks to road users, we recognise the kind of activity can also have a significant impact on local residents and we will take proportionate action wherever necessary to tackle this issue.’
References
- ^ Matt Strudwick (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ recent horror smash (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Premier League (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ The Times (www.thetimes.co.uk)
- ^ Premier League (www.dailymail.co.uk)