This week, I spoke in Parliament to raise the issue of anti-social behaviour in West Lancashire.

In recent weeks, my inbox has been full of constituents reporting off-road bikes tearing up and down residential streets at all hours of the day, and leaving local people concerned about leaving the house.

It’s just not right that innocent people are having to tell their kids not to play in the street and are scared to report the issue to the police for fear of being targeted in retaliation.

The reality is that the police simply don’t have the resources to catch the bike riders quickly enough, and even if they did, a high-speed chase through housing estates would be extremely dangerous for local residents. That’s why I back Labour’s plan to focus on neighbourhood policing and put 13,000 additional officers and PCSOs on our streets to rebuild trust with the local community and act as a deterrent to anti-social behaviour.

I raised this issue with Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner Andrew Snowden when I met with him earlier this week and am committed to working with all local stakeholders including West Lancashire councillors, Lancashire Police, and most importantly, our local community to resolve this issue and end the nuisance to residents.