‘Horrible’ problems near Blaby bypass synonymous with ‘boy racing’

Residents of a Leicestershire street heading towards a dual carriageway synonymous with ‘lads racing’ believe speed cameras are the only deterrent, despite increased police patrols. Houses in Charlton Close, Whetstone, directly back onto the A426, also known as the Blaby Bypass.

Residents said the noise is “horrendous” from most motorbikes and that when the weather gets better, the problem tends to get worse. One woman said she wondered when they would get a “motorcycle in their garden” with the vehicles “smiling up and down”.

Another said the cameras were the only deterrent to speeding on the road as “boy racers” continued to hit “80 or 90”, despite police saying they had stepped up patrols due to an expected increase in carpooling activity in the warmer months. Pam Cook, 74, who lives with her husband Steve, said the noise was “terrible” but there was no point in calling the police.

Warning for drivers in Leicester as overnight closures are planned for the busy road

She said: “When the sun comes out it’s even worse. We hear it at night above our television.

“It goes down one roundabout and then the other. It can even be cars, I know they have car meets up there.

“The noise is really terrible and I’m not going 50 miles an hour. I don’t think vans are there very often.

“For us, most of them are motorcycles. Sometimes, late at night, you hear a motorcycle revving into the station.

“If you think about calling the police, by the time they come, all (the bikes) may be gone. I hope something will be done about it.

“We always say that one of these days we’ll have a motorcycle in our garden.” Pam said that last September, when two people died in a two-car collision on the bypass, one of the vehicles was left upside down next to the garden fence.

“It upset us to think it happened so close to us,” she said. “We even had little debris in our garden, it was something from his wing mirror or his indicator.”

Wendy Beaumont (62) lives on Hodson Close, who does not return on the bypass, said the traffic doesn’t really affect her. She said, “I’m going to bed and that’s it.

“You hear them (cars) and motorcycles. It is what it is.

“I noticed the police put up 50km/h and reduced the speed limit, but as you say, they won’t care, racing boys. You know how kids are.”

A 68-year-old man who wished to remain anonymous said he had recently moved to Charlton, near Huncote. He said: “It’s a noise issue, I heard motorbikes more than anything.

“The noise makes it sound like it’s racing. It looks like they go down to one side and go down the roundabout and come back up again.”

He said despite the speed limit, the sound of the bikes told him they were “going a lot faster than that”. In July last year, the Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Road Safety Partnership (RSP) announced that bypassing would be the focus of 18 months of enforcement measures.

It was called “a site of community concern” and “regular” camera visits were promised. More recently, Blaby officers said on Facebook last Wednesday (May 15) that bypass patrols had been stepped up as they expected more “car encounter activity” due to the “warmer weather”.

PCSO Calum Loades said: “Over the last few nights the Beat Team has been on the Blaby Bypass a number of times and the location preventing such issues, this will continue as much as we can around other engagements, inquiries and patrols. However, Nicole Cooper (38) said the traffic and noise on the road was “terrible”.

“You hear it most nights,” she said. “I said if I ever moved, it wouldn’t be anywhere near the bypass. When it’s hot, the bikes zoom up and back down, it’s constant.

“There were occasions when I contacted the police on Facebook and they said they were on patrol.” Nicole said in another incident a car “crashed” into a traffic light at a nearby roundabout after “running” before driving off.

“I just heard a bang. My husband went to make sure no one was hurt. So it’s a problem.”

A 61-year-old man, who wished to remain anonymous, was visiting his 93-year-old mother at her home in Charlton Close. “I think they need cameras,” he said.

“I have friends who live near Spital Lane and I can hear how fast the cars are whizzing up and down. I live a quarter of a mile away and I can hear them. It’s not just a problem for people who give back.

“Whether it’s motorbikes or racing boys, so far they haven’t come up with anything to deter people from congregating in these areas. I was told that people come from afar.

“I think the cameras are the only deterrent. With the speed limit going down, the guys who are still racing are doing 90 or 80, if there’s no one here to monitor it regularly, they’re going to keep getting away with it.”

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