Man arrested after off-road bikers lead police on chase down the canal

Greater Manchester Police has confirmed that a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of disqualified driving after leading officers on a chase along the canal in Leigh on Saturday, August 31.

As part of a new operation to off-road bikers and anti-social behaviour, the National Police Air Service (NPAS) spotted a group of riders driving anti-socially down the canal towpath, before heading off towards Pennington Flash.

Once they spotted NPAS, the group changed direction looking to avoid the helicopter’s CCTV camera, driving dangerously through Leigh, Tyldesley, and Bolton, while just managing to avoid members of the public.

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The bikers driving dangerously through Leigh, Tyldesley, and Bolton after fleeing the canal (Image: GMP)
Along the towpath, an officer carrying a stinger successfully managed to deploy it which stung the wheels of a motorbike, leaving the suspect no choice but to abandon it close to the canal before being picked up by another rider behind him.

NPAS continued to track the riders to a remote location, giving out their location to officers on the ground who caught up with them and apprehended one of the riders, who was arrested and later bailed.

Three bikes were also recovered as police continue to clamp down on anti-social behaviour (ASB) on motorbikes, e-bikes and quadbikes.

Officers seized three off-road bikes following the operation (Image: GMP)
Over the last two weeks, officers across the borough have seized eight bikes and two quadbikes, with two of the bikes and one of the quadbikes being confirmed as stolen.

Since the operation to tackle and reduce ASB on motorbikes launched in June, it has seen 38 seizures and 11 arrests in total. This included the arrest of a dangerous-off road biker in Tyldesley in July.

Another of the bikes seized by police (Image: GMP)
Sergeant Dan Canavan from GMP's Wigan district said: “Since the start of the operation in June of this year, we have continued in our efforts to deal with riders who are committing anti-social behaviour in our area

“I know for a lot of residents this has been an area concern for a long time, and I am now delighted to be able to let them see an insight into how much time and resource has gone into dealing with these problem riders."

“While some people may use off-road bikes in the way they were intended, others use them to ruin parks, playing fields and flagrantly violate traffic laws – the latter which we saw first-hand again on Saturday – and this is exactly what this operation is intending to prevent.

“Our work does not end here; we will continue to pursue those who think they are above the law and we will do everything we possibly can do to prevent this problem going back to how it was in years gone by.”