Scramblers in Derry: 'It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt'

Aontú councillor Emmet Doyle has said that a number of constituents have expressed fear and anger at people on quads and scramblers destroying the grass and walking path in Linear Park, known locally as the Black Paths. The wrecking spree sprayed muck, grass and dog poo all over the path and causes distress to the residents.

Cllr Doyle said: “This has always been a problem around the Black Paths in Galliagh. That area is mainly grass and, when it’s wet, the quads bring up all the muck, dogs dirt and everything else. The police can do very little because you can’t send a police car after a ten-year-old on a quad – and they are that young in many of the cases. Someone’s going to end up being killed. People walk their dogs around that way, there’s a new community centre down there and everyone’s doing their best to keep the community looking well.

"The mess that’s being created is genuinely shocking. Once you get the tyre tracks in the grass and they fill up with rain and it’s wrecked for months. It looks awful. The video I had seen, it was children, they were spraying muck and dogs dirt and it was even spraying up the side of people’s houses and everything.

"People are coming forward and saying that this has to stop. If it was confined to the green areas, that’s one thing but they’re flying up pathways were people are walking with prams and they’re either going to hurt themselves or someone else. It’s genuinely just a matter of time.

"People have been asking me where else they should go – this happens in Ballyarnett Country Park too and it’s the same mess left – and my view is, if you know there’s nowhere to go, why would you buy one?

"We’re trying to fight for investment in the area. We got the new Galliagh Community Centre but we would love to see more investment in the local area. It’s hard to justify that, though, when the area can’t even be left alone.

“There have been incidents on this path with the streetlights, people complain that there is no dog bins, which is simply because every time they’re put there, they get smashed. It’s costing money but it’s the overall aesthetic of the area. From Galliagh Park to the Co-op, the community centre, they all look into that green space and when it looks awful, it reflects badly on the community.

"People are now avoiding the area but the issue isn’t just confined to there. Now, people driving on the footpaths and these quads are a quare size. I had a woman call me not long after this incident to say they nearly ran her and her wain, who was walking home from nursery, over. And they laughed about it!

"It’s getting to the point where the community are looking to councillors and the Community Safety Team to do something about it but whenever we try to resolve it, we’re asked where we want them to go and that’s not good enough – not for the mess that they’ve made.

"People just need to stop it. If you’re willing to buy a young child a motorised vehicle then get yourself a trailer and take them somewhere where they won’t hurt themselves, others or peoples property.”