POLICE in Bradford have now seized more than 50 off road and quad bikes since the start of a crackdown last month on nuisance riding.

New figures were revealed yesterday as the first five 'nuisance bikers' appeared in court on dangerous driving charges.

Head of the police quad bike squad, Inspector George Bardell, said police had sized 52 bikes since the middle of July. They have been taken to a garage for disposal.

Officers have also issued well over 100 Section 59 final warnings - allowing them to seize bikes if a further nuisance is committed - and 25 yellow initial warning letters have been sent out. A number of people have also been arrested on suspicion of the theft of bikes.

Insp Bardell said the quad bike team had made good progress with the problem, and the number of "live" calls to police about bikers causing a nuisance had decreased.

"We would like to think that is a consequence of the increase in bike seizures and the fact that people have an anonymous phone number to ring us with information about where the nuisance bikes are, and who is riding them," said Insp Bardell.

He added: "We are getting towards 100 calls in to us, which gives us the ammunition to get on the road and take action to deal with this issue."

Yesterday, five bike riders, who all live in Bradford, charged with dangerously driving off-road motorbikes, had their cases adjourned.

Jake Fry-Morrell, 20, of Stone Hall Road, Eccleshill; Sean Kirby, 20, of Sandholme Drive, Thorpe Edge; Levi Lambert, 21, of Albion Road, Idle; Kyle Roper, 20, of York House, Idlethorp Way, Thorpe Edge; David Sparkes, 19, of Sandfield Road, Thorpe Edge, are all charged with driving a motor vehicle dangerously.

Sparkes faces four separate charges; Fry-Morrell is charged with three offences; Kirby and Roper face two charges of dangerous driving; and Lambert has one charge against him.

All of the offences are alleged to have taken place in January and February this year.

Only three of the group, Kirby, Roper and Sparkes, appeared in court. Lambert and Fry-Morrell failed to appear yesterday.

But their case has been adjourned as West Yorkshire Police prepare separate videos featuring CCTV footage of each defendant. This is expected to be completed by October 1.

Their cases were adjourned and will appear before Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court on September 2.