FOUR mini motobikes are set to be crushed as the result of a crackdown on uninsured riders. The four bikes were seized over a five-day period by police in the Letchworth GC and Baldock areas. Community inspector Geoff Camp said: I think there s a total l

FOUR mini motobikes are set to be crushed as the result of a crackdown on uninsured riders.

The four bikes were seized over a five-day period by police in the Letchworth GC and Baldock areas.

Community inspector Geoff Camp said: "I think there's a total lack of understanding about the legality of mini motobikes and there's some education that needs to take place with parents and kids.

"Although they are not illegal to buy and they are not illegal to own, you can't ride these things legally unless on private property and with the land owner's permission.

"The main message is that parents shouldn't buy them for their kids."

Mini motobikes do not conform to the Road Traffic Act and therefore cannot be registered with the DVLA or be insured.

If uninsured bikes are used on a public road or in a public place they can be seized by police.

A rider without insurance could face going to court and may receive a £200 fine and six penalty points or even a prison sentence.

The impounding of these bikes coincided with the destruction of a number of uninsured vehicles seized county-wide.

Chief Constable Frank Whiteley and Lord Simon, a road safety campaigner, attended a scrapyard near Hertford last week to help destroy a number of vehicles.

Nearly 5,000 uninsured vehicles have been seized since new legislation - which forms part of the Serious and Organised Crime Act - was introduced in August 2005.

This legislation allows police to seize any vehicles being driven without insurance or without the driver holding an appropriate licence.