FAMILIES’ enjoyment of peace and quiet and hot summer weather is once again being blighted by louts on motorbikes in Blackbird Leys.

Police have received numerous reports from residents who are annoyed at the incessant noise created by scrambler , quads and mini-motorbikes being ridden throughout the estate.

The use of the bikes in the area usually increases during warmer months, and since the hot weather began in April, bikers have been using land and footpaths off Grenoble Road, near the Brake Hill and Fry’s Hill area, as a race track.

Riding motorcycles and quad bikes off-road without permission from the landowner is a criminal offence.

When a bike is seized on public land, such as a bridleway, the owner can only have it returned after paying a recovery fee of about £150, plus a storage fee of £15 per day.

The bike can be destroyed or disposed of if not claimed within a set time.

Last night, police said they had issued three riders with a formal Section 59 notice, warning them not to ride the vehicles anti-socially.Officers have also seized one bike, a 450cc Yamaha motorbike from a 22-year-oldwho had ignored the Section 59 warning.

Blackbird Leys Pc Russell Stevenson said: “Because it’s in the day time, it’s disturbing everyone’s peace. People are going outside in the hotter weather and they can’t because the bikes are so loud.”

He said officers had stepped up patrols in the area since receiving complaints, and added the safety of dog walkers and young cyclists could be compromised.

He said: “It’s part of our patrols now to listen out for bikes.

“They have made a little assault course and jumps, but they are not trespassing because it’s public land.

“While we don’t want to give the impression that we are trying to spoil anyone’s fun, we do have to act on what the community reports to us.

“We will be seizing bikes if we receive these sorts of complaints in the future and we will take action where people’s idea of fun disturbs the community.”

The problem has also been raised at a Blackbird Leys Parish Council meeting and with the local Neighbourhood Action Group.

David Troth’s Staffordshire bull terrier Jazz was blinded after she was run over by a motorbike in Blackberry Lane.

The 47-year-old of Deer Walk, Greater Leys, has been campaigning against the antisocial bikers since the incident in 2006.

He said: “It’s all the time, they are shooting up and down on the bridleway and the roads, not just in the fields. I can hear them from my house, so can a lot of other people.

“It happens every summer.”

Anyone with information about motorbikes being ridden anti-socially should call police on 08458 505505 or the anonymous Crimestoppers hotline on 0800 555111.