Residents said police need to do more to stop young people tearing around their estate on unlicensed mini motorbikes.

Householders on Great Western Park in Didcot said the speed and the noise coming from the unlicensed bikes is 'tremendous' and drowns out conversation and even online meetings.

Resident Filipa Harris said: “It’s been going on on and off for a few months but last Friday a lot of residents felt like it was so bad they should call the police.

“They were looping round the estate, going in and out, jumping red lights.

Oxford Mail: Filipa Harris

“We felt it was a safety issue. They are riding illegally and most of them were without helmets and they were coming off kerbs and bends and crashing.

"We thought, they are going to injure themselves or hit a pet or a pushchair. The speed and the noise was tremendous.”

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Police were eventually called and arrived almost immediately.

However, Ms Harris said they only stayed for five or 10 minutes and gave the young people 'a slap on the wrist'.

The group started riding their bikes again as soon as the police left.

She said: “They had a word with the group and after that they all went away and everything went quiet for an hour. I went back to work but then after an hour they all came back and carried on for the rest of the afternoon.

“I think the police need to take a stronger stance. They can’t just say, this is illegal and in effect give these youths a slap on the wrist.

“I’m sure the police have got plenty to do but we were just a bit disappointed. The scale of the problem was such that my expectation was that they would come in a van and put all the vehicles in the van."

It is illegal to drive the petrol-powered bikes on the roads and mini-Motos can only can be used on private land with the landowner's permission.

Ms Harris said: “It’s also a responsibility of the parents – don’t buy these vehicles – and the sellers of these bikes. People should be told in black and white, these are not legal to ride on the road or on footpaths.”

Ian Snowdon, district and county councillor for Didcot West, said residents had sent him messages and videos.

He said: "These are very noisy off road bikes being ridden in anti-social manners weaving between moving and parked cars without helmets."

Referring to an electric bike crash where two boys were killed, he added: "With the tragic events in Cardiff recently I advised residents to call the police, the police attended and I understand they gave the riders a warning. 

Oxford Mail: GWP

"Shortly after the police left they returned to the roads and continued riding around the estate’s narrow roads. " 

Mr Snowdon escalated the matter with the Thames Valley police and crime commissioner Matthew Barber.

He said: "I appreciate dealing with anti-social behaviour is difficult for the police as they are either accused of being too soft or too hard. However, I think this issue needs addressing before we too see a more serious incident.

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"Great Western Park is a fantastic community and this anti-social behaviour needs nipping in the bud.”

Mr Barber told BBC Radio Oxford he agreed the force needed to do more.

"I think we need to look at the powers the police are choosing to use and how strongly we tackle these issues," he said.

He explained there were "some real challenges sometimes" when dealing with issues that really concerned residents but were not "necessarily criminal".