Windermere local

Carlisle row: Cruise club discourages boy-racers

Published at 11:05, Saturday, 24 July 2010

Cruising enthusiasts have defended their passion – saying that enjoying their cars is no different from any other hobby.

Cruise West Cumbria (CWC) spoke out after complaints from Carlisle residents about “boy-racers” congregating in the car park of Carlisle’s St Nicholas Gate retail park, on London Road.

“CWC discourage boy racer behaviour and give car enthusiasts the chance to meet in a location away from houses,” said a spokeswoman, one of the group’s organisers.

“We take pride in the reputation we’ve built up over the last seven years.”

CWC meet up in locations across Cumbria – with past meets taking place at Carlisle’s Lower Viaduct and Rosehill car parks and retail park car parks in Workington – and can attract anything between 250 and 500 cars to their events. And she said that while she accepts boy racers can be a nuisance, they need somewhere to go and enjoy their hobby.

“Evidently boy racers do cause distress to local residents but that’s to be expected when there’s a drive-thru takeaway in the middle of a town,” she said.

“The local places where people used to meet at night now have barriers on them and if you stop people parking somewhere they will find somewhere else.

“I’m sure youngsters in cars cause less problems for people than people who spend money on drinks and drugs and wreck town centres every Friday and Saturday night.”

The group has been running since July 2003 and their events now regularly attract cruisers not just from across Cumbria but also from the north-east, Lancashire, Manchester, Scotland and North Wales.

Jane added: “Having an interest in cars is no different from kids on bikes and skateboards.

"It’s just the location which is a big thing. CWC does try its best to organise suitable locations for people to meet and people want to have a location where people respect us and give permission for us to be there.”

Membership of CWC is free and more information about joining the cruises can be found at www.cruisewestcumbria.co.uk.

Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

Have your say

To all those who point out that it's a through road, the simple answer is to monitor all the access points. Allow vehicles to enter but fine them if they don't leave within 15 minutes.

The problem with the council providing somewhere out of town is that once the council provides somewhere like that, they become legally responsible for it. That means spending taxpayer's money on these people.

ANPR is a great idea, and hopefully it will be monitored by the police to catch cars that aren't properly registered/taxed/insured.

Posted by chris on 27 July 2010 at 09:21

Whats the point in it all!! Look my cars faster than yours bla bla, They should all have have there cars crushed and not be allowed to buy a car ever again!! These people are the cause that insurance is so high for under 21s. These people also leave loads of litter and skid marks all over the road, plus scare other drivers that are driving correctly around the town. yes the police stop some but why not all,

Posted by Martyn on 26 July 2010 at 19:11

View all 70 comments on this article