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ARCHIVED - Murcia ramps up police patrols to fight illegal motorbike racing
Street races are reportedly held every night in Nueva Condomina and La Fuensanta, Murcia
Police surveillance has been stepped up in Murcia city neighbourhoods to tackle illegal street motorbike racing, particularly in the Nueva Condomina and La Fuensanta areas.
Locals claim gatherings and races take place every night on the access road to the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fuensanta, Algezares, posing a "serious and dangerous" problem.
One concerned woman wrote on social media: "They ride at high speed on a stretch that has a 30km/hr speed limit, endangering the safety of neighbours and their own, and preventing people from getting any rest."
The problem isn't a new one, the illegal races have apparently been going on for years, and ongoing from complaints, particularly over Halloween weekend, have forced the local police to take action by "intensifying vigilance to put a stop to these type of motorbike and car gatherings", according to sources from Murcia City Council.
On Saturday night, into Sunday morning, the gathering and noise was so unbearable that locals videoed dozens of racers in the Juan de Borbón area and shared them.
"It is unbearable, they circulate at brutal speed, making a tremendous noise and even doing wheelies," said one neighbour.
Another pointed out that the racers were "in disguise, spinning and jumping traffic lights, risking their lives and those of other drivers and pedestrians".
The hazardous races are not isolated to the city centre: people living in La Alberca and Algezares claim motorbike gatherings are "a constant problem" and warn "the local police should be more vigilant", given that "the traffic and noise are intolerable".
In a statement, the city council countered: "The Local Police has established preventive services in Nueva Condomina and Fuensanta, which is where the presence of groups of bikers has been detected, through social networks and warnings from neighbours."
It added that, "thanks to prevention", these concentrations "have been dissolved", although residents say otherwise.
Murcia Local Police's Special Public Safety Group (GESC) is responsible for controlling these gatherings, and has reminded that "it is not a crime to meet up with fellow motorcyclists or to ride together".
However, racers can be fined if, for example, they leave their vehicle parked in an area where it's prohibited or if they are caught committing an offence against road safety.
Image: Policía Local Murcia
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