BOY racers who have been plaguing a private Worcester car park have sparked a row between two neighbouring retail stores.

The gangs of youths have been using the Homebase car park on Hylton Road as a racetrack in the evenings.

The DIY company says McDonald's, which has a restaurant on the site, is not willing to back its plan to solve the problem.

But McDonald's says the solution proposed by Homebase would put its staff at risk.

Customers claim that they are being put in danger by the young drivers when they visit the store and the restaurant.

They also say members of staff at Homebase have done nothing to stop the youngsters as they race around in the evenings.

One customer, who did not want to be named, had seen intimidating gangs revving their engines and spinning their wheels outside the store.

He said they then raced off on to the main road and completed the circuit of New Road and Tybridge Street, ignoring traffic lights.

"These young hot-rod drivers would appear to be better off on Grimley Racetrack, but they prefer to show off their skills at Homebase," he said. "Where was the store manager, who could have complained to the police about this?"

A Homebase spokeswoman said barriers had been installed at the car park's exit.

"The car park is owned by Homebase but the exit is used by Mc-Donald's customers, and McDonald's stays open later than us," she said. "We've asked their staff to close the barriers, but they aren't willing to take the responsibility.

"We're considering getting a security team to deal with it, and our property department is meeting with McDonald's next week to try and find a solution to the problem."

A spokeswoman for McDonald's said barriers were not the answer and Homebase should redesign the car park to solve the problem.

"If the gangs are already in the car park, you have to either shut them in or ask them to leave," she said.

"The safety of our staff is paramount. We would not get them to ask a gang of youths to leave the car park.

"The car park needs speed bumps or other traffic calming measures. We sympathise with residents and customers - it's affecting our business, too."