Lives 'blighted' and pets killed by illegally-modified cars racing through 'beautiful' Scottish town
Lives are being “blighted” by illegally modified cars and motorbikes racing through towns across Scotland, John Swinney has been told.
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Alex Cole-Hamilton urged the First Minister to help tackle the “criminal behaviour” by setting up a national taskforce. He said pets had been killed, hotels were losing trade and the quality of life of residents in areas such as South Queensferry was being “destroyed”.
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Mr Swinney said he was happy to “explore all possibilities” to combat the issue, but warned legislative responsibility may lie with Westminster.
Speaking during First Minister’s Questions in Holyrood on Thursday, Mr Cole-Hamilton, who is the MSP for Edinburgh Western, said he chaired a “packed” town hall meeting in South Queensferry on Wednesday evening.
He said: “For four years, my constituents have had their quality of life destroyed by hundreds of high performance, illegally modified cars and motorbikes racing around their beautiful town.
“The drivers of these vehicles will abuse and intimidate anyone who approaches them where they gather, in the car park at the foot of the iconic Forth Bridge. Pets have been killed, hotels have lost trade, nobody is getting any sleep.
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Hide Ad“Residents like pensioner Andy Scott are really worried about road safety. In fact, just as our meeting was concluding, there was a collision right outside our venue with a motorcyclist rushed to hospital. Police are appealing for information about that.
“The racing and anti-social behaviour is happening in Inverness, parts of Glasgow, Crail, many other areas. Will the First Minister meet with me and agree to establish a national taskforce to establish and examine what more can be done to address this criminal behaviour that is blighting so many lives?”


Mr Swinney said he was “very sorry to hear” about the problems in South Queensferry, calling it a “beautiful part of our country”.
He said road fatalities were a “very serious and current problem”, adding: “I’m very happy to have discussions with Mr Cole-Hamilton on this subject, and to determine what further action can be taken.”
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Hide AdThe First Minister added: “There may be some legislative issues that may be worth considering. I fear that some of those will not be within our areas of responsibility, because of road traffic issues. But I’m very happy to explore all possibilities.”
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