POLICE are cracking down on young bikers taking to the roads and pathways illegally and causing misery for people in Darlington.

The authority has seen a dramatic rise in the number of complaints about people on mopeds and trial bikes causing havoc.

Riders are racing along roads, performing illegal stunts, wearing no safety gear and damaging land.

Action is being taken to increase uniformed and plain- clothes police patrols in parts of the town most troubled by the nuisance bikers.

Posters are being distributed to shops informing people about the laws in relation to mopeds and motorised scooters.

The laws state that riders must have insurance, a moped licence, a registration plate and tax to ride on a public road.

They must also be aged more than 16 and wear a helmet, in addition to having the permission of the landowner to use private land.

Beat officers are also working in partnership with Darlington Borough Council's uniformed wardens to catch the bikers, whose activity increased over school holidays.

Neighbourhood beat officer Amanda Stevens said the problem was particularly bad in the Branksome area, with a lot of youths riding on the Black Path behind Jedburgh Drive.

She said: "I caught three kids recently. One was on a motorised scooter and the other two were together riding mopeds along Eggleston View. None of them was wearing a helmet and they had no insurance.

"Police have the power to seize the bikes, question the youths, and they could face a reprimand or a final warning, or they could be charged. "There are several complaints about these bikers every day - about the noise, the nuisance and the anti-social behaviour."

At a Firthmoor Community Safety Partnership meeting resident Bill Cook said more beat officers were needed in the area to have an impact.

"Going back three years ago police solved the problem. They were on the ball. You used to see a policeman walking the beat every day and he wiped the bikers off the face of Firthmoor."