SWANSEA: Boys of 14 among seven arrested as police pull six bikes off the streets

Police have released dramatic footage of their crackdown on anti-social and dangerous driving in Swansea — targeting motorbikes, e-bikes and car drivers.

Boys as young as 14 are among seven people arrested as police stripped six illegal bikes off the city’s streets.

The crackdown threw everything at the problem, from drones overhead to armed officers on the ground.

One dramatic car chase featured showed police pursuing a car tearing through streets in Mount Pleasant, Brynmill and the city centre at speeds hitting almost 60mph — all in a 20mph zone.

The driver, James Holt, 45, from Gowerton, was already on the radar of a knife crime operation when he refused to stop for police. He has since admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and uninsured, and drink driving.

In a separate incident in Gorseinon, officers chased down a bike running on false plates — and the two riders arrested turned out to be boys of 14.

Two 17-year-olds, from Bonymaen and Plasmarl, were arrested after a motorbike was snatched in the city centre. Police got the stolen bike back, and footage of the arrests shows officers recovering a Sur-Ron electric bike in an underpass.

In Pontarddulais, two unregistered bikes ignored orders to stop from armed officers. A stinger ended the argument, and both were seized.

South Wales Police have also charged 36-year-old Matthew Davies, from Maesteg, with driving while disqualified and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance.

Temporary Chief Inspector Andrew Hedley said the arrests demonstrated “the impact of our ongoing targeted work to tackle illegal and anti-social use of vehicles across Swansea, Neath and Port Talbot.”

He said that the police were using specialist teams to identify offenders, “disrupting criminal activity and taking dangerous vehicles off our roads”.

He added that the force would keep acting on tip-offs from residents. “We will continue to act on information from our communities and take robust action against those who put others at risk,” he said.

The arrests are the latest scalps for Operation Akalat, the force’s rolling campaign against illegal bikes, stolen vehicles and the drug dealing that often travels with them.

Its biggest single haul came in April, when a police plane circling above Swansea guided officers to sixteen bikes in one day: eight in Penlan, three in the city centre, three in Townhill and two in Morriston. Several turned out to be stolen.

The same plane caught an extra target that evening. Callum Payne, 18, of Port Tennant, was tracked from 1,500ft as he sped a Sur-Ron over the SA1 pedestrian footbridge, weaving past drinkers and traffic. Officers found him inside a nearby house; he is now banned from the roads for two years and doing 200 hours of unpaid work.

Gorseinon’s riders have been playing hide and seek with police for months. Officers previously found five motorcycles stashed in woodland near the town, believed to be the machines behind a long run of complaints.

The Sur-Rons turning up again and again in these seizures are not toys. In law they are motor vehicles, needing registration, insurance and a licence to ride on a road or public path — unlike pedal-assist e-bikes, which are capped at 15.5mph.

And the bikes police take may never come back. Under powers proposed by the UK Government, vehicles used anti-socially could be crushed within 48 hours instead of the current 14 days, with no warning needed before they are taken.

Police and Crime Commissioner Emma Wools has backed the tougher line, saying such machines are often used to facilitate drug dealing and serious violence.

Swansea knows the cost when it goes wrong. In 2023, a child was seriously injured and airlifted to Morriston Hospital after being hit by an off-road motorbike yards from a Mayhill primary school.

South Wales Police say that anyone with information about illegal riding can contact them on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.