Drivers warned after around 150 cars gather at Serpentine Green in Peterborough - despite dispersal order being in place

Police have issued warnings to drivers after around 150 cars gathered at Serpentine Green Shopping Centre on Friday night – despite an order being put in place to prevent anti-social behaviour.

From 5pm on Saturday (10 February) to 7am on Sunday (11 February), a dispersal order covering the whole of Cambridgeshire was put in place following information about a car meet planned to take place in Peterborough on Saturday evening.

Whilst carrying out patrols at the known hotspot locations for these meets, neighbourhood officers swiftly moved up to about 150 cars that had gathered in the Serpentine Green car park in Hampton.

Two section 59 warnings under the Police Reform Act 2002 were issued where vehicles were being used in a manner which caused alarm, distress, or annoyance. The notices are placed on both the driver and the vehicle, meaning should either be found to be involved in anti-social behaviour again, the vehicle can be seized.

Inspector Connor Hall, from Peterborough’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Thanks to the information that we received, we were able to act quickly and get a county-wide dispersal order put in place.

“Car meets and the associated anti-social behaviour is an ongoing priority for our southern Peterborough Neighbourhood Policing Team and is something that we will continue to work at tackling.”

Anti-social behaviour resulting from car meetings has been a major problem in Peterborough in recent years, with the city council taking action at some known hotspots to prevent the meets happening.