A QUAD bike being ridden illegally by a teenager in Church Hill has been seized by police.

Officers used new powers to seize the bike, belonging to a teenage girl, which was being ridden by a 15-year-old boy on a footpath in Exhall Close, earlier this month.

North Worcestershire antisocial behaviour co-ordinator Pc Andy Holliday said: "We warned people we'd be looking to seize any bike being used illegally and this is exactly what we've done.

"These bikes cannot be ridden on footpaths, in parks and woodlands or on council land that has public access and can only be ridden on private land with the landowner's permission.

"Riding this bike along the footpath breached these regulations and so the bike was duly seized."

He said the owner could pay a fine to get the bike back -- but if they did not pay or were caught re-offending and the bike was seized again, it would be destroyed.

"These bikes are dangerous and can cause distress to anyone living near a footpath or using a public park where they're being ridden," he added.

"People should not have to tolerate this antisocial behaviour and we hope residents in Church Hill and across Redditch will feel reassured we're taking positive action."

Pc Holliday encouraged anyone experiencing problems of this kind to call police as the offence was happening or to raise concerns at their local PACT meeting.

The next PACT meeting for Church Hill will take place at 7pm on Wednesday, July 5 at Church Hill Community Centre.