IT'S high time the Government confronted the anti-social menace caused by quad bikes.

In the Bradford district we see them all the time: revving their engines pointlessly at the traffic lights or weaving in and out of slow-moving traffic shouting at bemused motorists sat in their cars.

Although a tumble from a quad bike is potentially just as dangerous as a fall from a motorcycle, quad bike riders don't have to wear a crash helmet. As most of them can't be bothered we have to presume they have some kind of a death wish.

In the latest incident, quad bikes turned pleasant public spaces in Eccleshill and Thorpe Edge into a muddy ruin over the weekend.

The problem is so bad that West Yorkshire Police has set up its own 'Quad Squad' to catch danger riders. Since July 2014 they have seized more than 1,000 vehicles.

The easiest way to deal with the problem would be to ban quads from the roads altogether.

Most quad bikes are illegal to be ridden on the roads anyway because they don't meet type approval standards. A blanket ban will allow police to act the moment they spot one on the road.

And a national register of off-road vehicles will give police a fighting chance of tracking down riders who continue to flout the law.

If quad bikes have a place it is hacking around farm land or working in a forestry.

Our message to quad bike riders is straightforward: if you want to use the roads get a motorbike, a car or (preferably) a pushbike.