A MASS car meet advertised on social media was foiled by police over fears of racing and dangerous stunts.
UPDATE: One arrested at car-meet up, police say
The 'unauthorised' cruise had been organised in Banbury yesterday evening, but was thwarted by Thames Valley Police officers who felt the event was a threat to public safety.
Hundreds of people had been expected to attend and it is thought many split off to other locations after police blocked the entrance to Gateway Shopping Park, where drivers were initially told to meet.
According to a public Facebook page for the event, which started at 6pm, some drivers headed to another car meet at Fairacres Retail Park in Abingdon while others went to Homebase in Banbury - where organisers said they had secured permission to stage the event.
Others said they had instead rerouted to Tesco in Bicester and Water Eaton Park and Ride in Oxford.
In a video shared on Thames Valley Police's Banbury Twitter page, Inspector John Batty said: "We are not prepared to let this event go ahead.
"A significant minority of people will look to take part in dangerous activity such as racing and performing stunts, and this poses and unacceptable risk of public safety.
"This is an unauthorised event that doesn't have the permission of the land owner."
(1/2) Following reports that a car cruise is set to take place in #Banbury, we will be carrying out patrols in various locations across the area.
— TVP Banbury (@TVP_Banbury) February 17, 2019
Insp Batty explains why organising a large scale event via social media is not sufficient: pic.twitter.com/BLQzmqYMDx
Many 'unauthorised' car meets are plugged on Facebook pages and organisers reveal the location at the last minute.
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Though police acknowledged that most attendees just want to safely show off their vehicles, there were concerns that others would pose a safety risk.
Officers advised there would be a large police presence at both Gateway Shopping Park and Banbury Cross Retail Park.
You may have noticed an increased police presence around Banbury, specifically the Gateway and Lockheed retail parks. This is due to reports of a large scale car meet that is believed to take place tonight #opchromium
— TVP Banbury (@TVP_Banbury) February 17, 2019
One person, responding to police on Twitter, said officers had made the 'wrong decision' and that the event had been organised in aid of the charity Help for Heroes.
He added: "We now have 250 angry cars touring the town and its car parks instead of a contained friendly group doing good for a charity."
There are several public event pages on Facebook for car meets in Banbury, mostly from 2016 and 2017, mainly taking place at Banbury Cross Retail Park.
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The page advertising yesterday's meet thanked those who still managed to turn up despite the last-minute location change, and said £221.48 had been raised for Help for Heroes.
There have previously been car meets in other areas of the county, including at the Oxford Retail Park car park in Cowley.
Police advised organisers of large-scale events that they must get the permission of the landowner and the district or city council.
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