Police in Bolton will bid for the specialist off-road unit to come to Bolton to tackle the nuisance caused by scrambler bikers.

The unit has currently been dispatached to Oldham and now it is hoped it will come to Bolton to tackle the issue which has  plagued areas of Bolton.

A senior police officer in Breightmet said efforts are being made to bring it to Bolton.

The comments were made at a Partners and Communities Together meeting held at Red Lane Primary School.

Neighbourhood Police Sergeant Dan Richards told the meeting about plans to deal with the issue.

He said: “We have tendered a bid for the services of our off-road bike and drone unit and have submitted evidence to support our bid.

“We have highlighted Leverhulme Park and New House Farm as an area of concern and we have arranged a site visit with the community safety team.

“The plan is to erect signage in the first instance which will give us our power to then seize vehicles that chose to ignore the warning.”

During this ward councillor Adele Warren also pointed out that section 59 signs warning against the use of off road bikes had been removed from Leverhulme Park and New House Farm.

She asked whether a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) would be possible to tackle the problem of off-road bikes.

The orders are made by local authorities in a given area when antisocial behaviour is having a detrimental effect on people’s lives.

Sgt Richards said: “A PSPO is possible, there is one in the town centre.

“If section 59 signs are being taken down we will have a look for other alternatives.

“A PSPO is one of those.

“It will have to go through police solicitors.”

He added: “The pursuit of off-road bikes is contentious.

“We have to take each one as it is really.

“There have been instances where bikes have been pursued successfully.

“We have to build an intelligence picture to find out where they are going.”

Off road bikes were reported at New House Farm at the weekend with police being called to the scene.