Officers from the Aldershot Safer Neighbourhoods Team held a mini moto awareness day to help tackle one of their community priorities.

The event was held at Aldershot Park and Andover Stores on Saturday, November 29 and was organised by PC Paul Williams and PC Mark Stephens from the Heron Wood beat team.

The officers were joined by Richard Aspey, Rushmoor Borough Council community warden.

The purpose of the event was to highlight to anyone who owns a mini moto, or is considering buying one, the legislation that exists.

The team had a crushed mini moto wrapped as a Christmas present to show people the risk they face if they break the law when using these vehicles.

PC Paul Williams said: "Residents in our ward have told us about mini motos and motorbikes being ridden along the Blackwater Valley path and this was identified as one of our community priorities.

"We have been working in partnership with various organisations including Rushmoor Borough Council, Surrey Police and the Blackwater Valley Countryside Partnership to try and resolve this issue.

"The purpose of the day was to make people aware of the legislation that exists around mini motos as many are not aware that they are committing offences.

"We saw some of the young people who are involved in riding mini motos and spoke to several parents who were fully supportive of our campaign."

The campaign was also used during the town centre CREW week, which attracted lots of attention as people stopped to watch a video of the mini moto being crushed.

PC Williams added: "This seemed to work really well as many of the young people were not aware they couldn’t ride their bikes in a field and hadn’t realised that they needed to ask for permission.

"We hope this campaign, alongside the measures we are working on with our partnership agencies, will reduce the amount of illegal riding that has taken place in previous years."

Motorbikes can be ridden legally on private land and only then with the permission of the land owner. In the case of public recreation areas the owner could be the local council, Forestry Commission or another public body.

Any riders under 16 must be supervised by a responsible adult and all riders must wear an e-marked or kite-marked crash helmet.

Motorcycles can be ridden on the road only if the rider is over 16, wearing an approved helmet and has a driving licence, tax and insurance for the vehicle. If the bike is over three years old it also needs an MOT.

The rider must also have undergone Compulsory Basic Training and the bike must have lights, number plates and sufficient tyre tread.

These bikes cannot be used on footpaths or cycle routes under any circumstances. If a motorcycle is being used illegally, dangerously or in a way likely to cause a nuisance, police have several options depending on the circumstances:

• The bike can be seized and crushed.
• The rider can be prosecuted under road traffic law and, if found guilty, fined and given points on his or her licence.
• If the rider is too young to have a driving licence the offence will be kept on file and the points deducted when the licence is issued.
• Illegal or nuisance use of these bikes can be used to provide evidence for anti-social behaviour orders.

PC Williams said: "We appreciate that driven properly in the right place, with the right equipment and training, that this can be an enjoyable pastime.

"We’d really like to hear from anyone who may be able to help us with ideas or expertise in setting up a track or alternative site."

To contact the team, please phone 0845 045 45 45, email aldershot.snt@hampshire.pnn.police.uk or visit the local policing pages at www.hampshire.police.uk