A crackdown on nuisance vehicles has resulted in dozens of calls to police at one recreation ground - but zero bikes have been seized.

In April, Medway Council put in place a public space protection order (PSPO) to tackle anti-social vehicles on the Towns’ roads and parks.

Barnfield Recreation Ground in Chatham is one hotspot where residents have welcomed the introduction of new powers for police to stop people riding motorbikes on the grass, tearing up the ground, and posing a risk to other park users.

A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has found that in the first four months of the new rules, between April 1 and July 30, the police were called about the issue 65 times to Barnfield Recreation Ground.

However, the police only attended the scene on 10 occasions - 15% of the time - although police say there may have been follow-up visits which were unrecorded.

And in this time, none of the vehicles which residents had reported were seized and no fines were issued.

The PSPO is in effect across the whole of Medway, targeting motorcycles, motorbikes and quad bikes being ridden anti-socially, car meets and cruising, as well as motorists playing loud music.

Medway Council says between May and October it has issued 38 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) for nuisance vehicles across the entirety of the Towns.

The @BarnfieldBikes X account posts photographs of people caught regularly riding vehicles on the recreation ground and causing a nuisance, tagging in Medway Council and Kent Police to take action.

They’ve been running the account since December 2022 and have posted more than 1000 times, but say little has changed since then - in fact they say the situation has got worse.

They said: “It totally proves the point that, despite all the rhetoric, neither the council or police are doing all that they can to address the issue.

“The safety of people who legally use Barnfield is being put at risk due to these mindless individuals who cause a nuisance and the council doesn't care.

“When is the council going to start to actually tackle the problem? It is their land after all!”

They added residents had been promised a dedicated beat officer for the recreation ground, but that because of the scale of the problem the officer is never available.

Additionally, they say police aren’t equipped to deal with the issue when they are present.

They added: “When the police do attend, they are on foot and are powerless to deal with the individuals who usually end up taunting the police.

“The police need their own motorbikes to tackle the problem. It's not rocket science.

“Other police forces are using them and have seen a dramatic reduction. Unfortunately, the Police Crime Commissioner won't provide this vital funding, despite residents pushing for it.”

The PSPO was introduced in April after being supported by councillors in October last year.

It gives police the power to issue £100 fines for breaking rules and even to seize vehicles.

Medway Council and the police say they are actively working to reduce nuisance vehicles.

A Medway Council spokesperson said: “The PSPO has proved effective, and between May and October this year 38 FPNs were issued by police and council officers for nuisance vehicles.

“We have carried out proactive joint patrols with police to tackle nuisance bikes, and we will continue to work together to coordinate our efforts.”

Kent Police were asked why no fines had been issued and why no vehicles had been seized in the first four months of the PSPO at Barnfield Recreation Ground, despite extensive evidence people were breaking the rules.

Inspector Paul Diddams from the Medway Community Safety Unit said: “We are aware of residents’ concerns around anti-social behaviour involving motorcycles and quad bikes on public spaces and footpaths near Barnfield, Chatham, and have worked closely with Medway Council since a PSPO was instigated on April 1.

“Where we have received reports of misuse of vehicles in this area, locally-based officers will attend in line with emergency calls and other duties.

“In two cases, riders were given formal warnings and required to leave the area immediately.

“Should they return they risk receiving a traffic offence report and having their bikes seized.

“Where attendance is not possible due to other urgent calls, details are passed to the neighbourhood officers to complete follow-up enquiries.

“Proactive enforcement has been also been organised with the assistance specially trained officers using drones to spot offenders. These will continue on different days of the week throughout the rest of the year.

“Neighbourhood officers are currently working to identify those who regularly commit this type of anti-social behaviour so that community protection warnings can be imposed to restrict their behaviour.

“These can include parents if young people are found to be responsible. Should they continue to offend further sanctions can be issued.

“We will continue to work with the owners of the land, Medway Council, to tackle this anti-social behaviour and I would encourage anyone with concerns to report them on our website or via 101.”