Court to hear application by Black Country councils for extension of street cruising injunction

The Business and Property Court in Birmingham will today (6 February) hear an application from four Black Country councils for an extension to an interim injunction which bans street racing in the area.

The local authorities have also applied to broaden the injunction's terms to include banning the promotion of a street racing event.

The councils secured an interim injunction in December, prohibiting people from participating, as a driver, a rider or a passenger, in a gathering of two or more people at which some of those present engage in motor racing, stunts or dangerous or obstructive driving.

Anyone found by the High Court to have breached the injunction will be in contempt of court and could be hit with penalties ranging from imprisonment or fine to an order to have their assets, such as their car, seized.

At the hearing, the councils plan to argue for the terms of the injunction to be extended so that it also forbids people from promoting, organising or publicising a street racing event or from being a spectator at such an event.

The application is being led by the City of Wolverhampton Council on behalf of the four Black Country councils and with the support of West Midlands Police.

A spokesperson for the claimant councils said: "We are pleased to be returning to the High Court to seek an extension to the existing street racing injunction.

"The present injunction bans people from participating in street racing, and we now want to go further so that it also bans people from either organising, or being a spectator at, such events. This was the case with the previous Black Country car cruising injunction, which proved so effective when it was in force between 2015 and 2021.

"It is of course vital that the authorities have the powers they need to crack down on street racing as and when it occurs and so we are naturally hopeful that we can secure an extension to the existing injunction from the High Court, which will provide a strong deterrent to anyone thinking of taking part in this dangerous and anti-social activity."

Adam Carey