By Sammie Jones

The gang of 200 bikers -many wearing face coverings- ran amok, driving at speed, pulling stunts, attacking a police van and hurling fireworks at motorists. The footage taken by one of the bikers show the bikers illegally riding dangerously through the city’s streets. One of the quad bikers was filmed standing up and  dancing while pulling wheelies. The biker seemed to believe it was all harmless fun, as he  posed  to passers by and passengers from a traveling bus.

Several bikes were driven along roads by bikers who were pulling wheelies all the way, as the riders laughed and joked with each other. Many of the riders conducted dangerous stunts as they weaved around several cars. Some of the bikers were driving without number plates and were dangerously ignoring red lights. Several motorists were forced to make emergency brakes to avoid running into the bikers.

The Halloween bikers rampage was disruptive to the city, as several of the bikers looked scary and acted as though they owned and dominated the streets of Birmingham. They wore frightening masks, and some of them are said to have destroyed the side mirrors of a number of cars as the drove by making gestures they thought was funny.

Birmingham Police branded the ride out as “outrageous and totally unacceptable”, and used stingers to stop the bikers in their tracks. Police seized up to 10 bikes including scramblers, mini motors and quad bikes were also seized.

West Midlands Police Chief Inspector Jack Hadley said: “This wasn’t a rally of bike enthusiasts – this was loutish, criminal behaviour.

“It is very difficult to plan for outbursts like this: it’s not a conventional, planned event and we saw small groups of bikers speeding off in all directions. It is very hard for officers to try and contain that activity.

“Stingers were used where appropriate to deflate bike tyres and to disrupt the activity – but this can only be done in certain circumstances where it would not endanger the rider or the deploying officer. Most of the bikers were not wearing helmets so this presents additional risks.

Bikes have a long tradition of taking to the streets of various occasions and tend to belong to a community of bikers.Many members feel untouchable, and they often operate as a gang, fighting each other’s battles. When bikers behave this irresponsibly, it highlights an inflated ego and a sense of invincibility and disregard for the law.