Police were once again called to a business park after reports of more than 100 'boy racers' in a car park.

Cars were seen racing up and down Crossways Boulevard dual carriageway in Greenhithe last night, with one mounting the pavement and narrowly missing a pedestrian.

The vehicles were parked up outside Screwfix on the business estate in Quadrant Court, with many revving their engines and doing stunts.

Kent County councillor for Swanscombe and Greenhithe Peter Harman went down to the site at about 10pm after being contacted by people upset by the noise. He said there were more than 100 cars.

He added: "I called the police on 999 and they said that they were receiving multiple calls from residents.

"When I drove inside and saw the actual number of vehicles and people present I phoned back the police control to update them, saying that they needed to send a number of police vehicles to deal with the incident."

Cllr Harman said a pedestrian could have been seriously injured or killed after one of the cars mounted the pavement.

"One of the cars that was racing another one lost control and went up onto the pavement on the dual carriageway. He just missed a pedestrian, a member of the public who was walking along there. He could have been killed."

There have been a number of problems with 'boy racers' in the Crossways Boulevard area in recent years.

Drivers are reported to use the trading estate as their base at weekends before whizzing around the nearby streets and roundabouts.

In July last year residents wrote to Dartford council to outline their concerns after a noisy meeting of up to 200 vehicles was said to have taken place in Quadrant Court.

Cllr Harman said the problem has been going on for four or five years. He has previously met with police and officers from Dartford council about the issue.

He added: "It is frustrating. It is not just the noise from the engines that residents have to put up with, it's the sounds of the tyres screeching as well.

"The drivers use the estate as a base and then go racing up and down the dual carriageway and back into the estate.

"I'd like to see more of a plan in place about how to deal with it. When 999 is called it is treated as an isolated incident, not an ongoing problem.

"There were two police officers turn up, up against 100 cars, they were severely outnumbered."

There have been temporary dispersal orders previously put in place, giving police more powers to deal with nuisance motorists, who risk having their cars seized if they don't comply.

Chief Insp Junior Dann, Kent Police’s district commander for Gravesham and Dartford, said: "We are aware of concerns residents have about nuisance motorists gathering in the Crossways Boulevard area of Greenhithe and do not underestimate the impact such actions have on the community.

"The area is regularly patrolled by our local policing teams and when gatherings do take place we seek to move on the individuals as quickly as possible.

"Over the course of 2021, we have enforced four dispersal orders and our policing response kept disruption in the area to a minimum for much of the summer months, and into early autumn.

"When we received reports of a large gathering, at around 9.35pm on Sunday, October 17, we deployed officers to the location and by around 10.30pm they had dispersed around 30 vehicles and a group of around 150 people.

"They then dispersed a small number of motorists who chose to drive poorly in a nearby road and by around 10.40pm there were no further reports of disruption.‘

"Our officers are now in the process of gathering, and reviewing, evidence linked to the anti-social behaviour. We will also be liaising with Dartford Borough Council, and businesses, to identify measures which can prevent similar incidents.

"If anyone has information that they think can assist with inquiries into the events on 17 October, please call 01474 366149 or contact us via our website.

"I would also encourage residents and businesses to report any further incidents of this nature to us, either by calling 101 or 999 in the event of an emergency."

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