BIKERS have forced the closure of a popular village car park after the owners decided it was too dangerous to keep it open.

St Peter's Church in Cookley has cordoned off the car park of the disused village hall in Lea Lane after the surface became churned up by motorbikes repeatedly ridden at night and residents complained of disturbances.

The Rev Geoff Shilvock, the vicar of the church which owns the whole site, admitted the move had hit both church-goers and parents of Cookley First School pupils but claimed people risked injury from the uneven car park surface.

And he said: "The problem was we had an awful lot of vandalism and noise going on throughout the night which was causing a lot of problems for the residents in the area."

Mr Shilvock added vandalism and joyriding had long been a problem but had worsened since the hall was closed at the end of last year when the cost of repairs became prohibitive.

In May some 25 of the 1930s hall's windows were smashed.

"The police are well aware of the situation. They do patrol the area but they can't be there all the time," he said.

Last month one of two brick pillars at the car park entrance was rebuilt so a chain could be secured to it and entry blocked off - but just days later it was wrenched over.

Now the chain has been attached to a tree and Mr Shilvock said the site was quiet.

He said there was a car park further along Lea Lane at the social club but admitted the road was now "chaos" at the beginning and the end of the school day with parents dropping off and collecting their children.

The car park will be closed for the "foreseeable future" as the church council looks to sell the site to raise money for a new village hall elsewhere in the village.