The Bradley Stoke Journal

The Neighbourhood Policing Team in Bradley Stoke has announced a clampdown on the illegal riding of mopeds, motorcycles and mini-mopeds in the Three Brooks Local Nature Reserve.

The move follows complaints about the nuisance from families, dog walkers and people living nearby.

Signs positioned at entrances to the reserve, which have been in place for many years, clearly state that the riding of motorcycles is prohibited (see photo).

Neighbourhood PC Michael Friis confirms that “There are no rights of way for vehicles across this reserve. Only pedal cycles and walkers are permitted.”

He added: “Anyone caught riding any sort of motorbike in the nature reserve could find their vehicle seized and even crushed by police.”

Officers have a power under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act to seize a vehicle being used to cause alarm or in an anti-social manner.

The Police statement encourages motorcycling enthusiasts to find out about local clubs and authorised tracks from the Amateur Motorcycle Association (AMCA). Local motocross tracks may be found at Cheddar and Tormarton.

Related Links:

• The Journal’s Bradley Stoke Police page
• The Journal’s guide to walking and cycling in Bradley Stoke

The helicopter of the Western Counties Air Operations Unit was seen hovering over Bradley Stoke’s new town centre at around 9pm on Monday night, supported by five police vehicles on the ground.

A Journal reporter saw a man being detained by Police officers in the car park of the Tesco store, while other officers (supported by a dog handler) searched the small area of woodland between the car park and Bradley Stoke Way.

A spokesperson for Avon and Somerset Police later released the following statement:

Police were called just before 8.40pm on Monday August 11 2008 by a man reporting his 19-year-old son missing from their home in Bradley Stoke.

The police helicopter and patrolling units searched the area and found the young man by around 9.16pm.

Southern Brooks Community Partnership is calling on residents of Bradley Stoke to help clear out the pond at Jubilee Green, Savages Wood Road. Rubbish has been dumped in and around the pond, making it dangerous for people and wildlife.

Interested parties are asked to meet at the Jubilee Centre [map] from 6pm on Thursday 22^nd May. Gloves and bags will be provided, but helpers are asked to bring their own waterproof footwear (wellies or waders).

The clear-up is the idea of members of the youth club that meets at The Jubilee Centre. Youth club members and leaders will be joined by a member of the Bradley Stoke Neighbourhood Policing Team as they they deal with the shopping trolleys, bicycles, tyres, plastic seats and other debris that litters the pond.

More photos of the pond before the tidy-up: [album; slideshow]

The initiative comes a few weeks before the town’s annual Community Festival that features events on the Jubilee Green over the weekend of 6^th-8^th June.

Residents are reminded that incidents of littering and fly tipping can be reported to South Gloucestershire Council’s Streetcare team (Tel: 01454-868000). If you are dissatisfied with the response you get from Streetcare team, you are advised to contact your local town or district Councillor [see The Journal's Contact your Councillors page for how to do this].

Fortunately, other ponds within Bradley Stoke are in a healthier condition. A few weeks ago, The Journal’s photographer took these shots [album; slideshow] of the pond at Patchway Common. Elsewhere, the Three Brooks Nature Conservation Group has created two new ponds in the grassland to the north of Savages Wood.