Police are appealing for help to catch youths who gathered in Sutton Coldfield town centre over the New Year holidays creating a wave of anti-social behaviour.
A gang of up to 30 young people on pedal bikes congregated in and around the busy Gracechurch Centre and rode at high speed and terrorised customers on December 30th and 31st.
A security guard was assaulted at around 12.30pm on 31st December by one of the young people. A 15-year-old suspect was identified at the time and is due to be questioned in the next few days.
The youths, aged in their teens and early 20s, also rode their bikes dangerously along Birmingham Road in Wylde Green, swore at motorists and set off fire extinguishers within the Gracechurch Centre the 2nd January 2017. Many of the suspects wore face coverings.
Officers attended all incidents and used dispersal powers under the Anti-Social Behaviour Act to bring an end to the disruption.
Inspector Jason Bonser from Sutton Coldfield Police said “officers will be taking strong action to prevent further incidents occurring. We believe these are copycat incidents following similar groups congregating on bikes in other areas of the city. Extra patrols will be on duty in and around the town centre over the coming days and the message from me is, don’t come here to cause trouble because you will be caught and you may well be prosecuted.”
If anyone with any information regarding these incidents should contact Sergeant Greg Richards by calling 101