Mini-bikers told to go off-road

Riders need to be licensed and insured to use the bikes on roads

Mini-motorbike users are being urged to use a new off-road site or face having their vehicles confiscated.

Police in Dorset are clamping down on illegal and anti-social use of the bikes, also known as minimotos.

They have given their backing to a new purpose-built site, Matchams Karting, which is now operating off the A31 near Ringwood in Hampshire.

Owners who cause a nuisance on roads and public places face prosecution and having their bikes taken, police warn.

Ch Insp Rick Dowell, head of Dorset's road policing unit, said: "The number of complaints concerning the illegal and anti-social use of minimotos on roads and in public places is increasing."

The Matchams karting circuit boasts training facilities, proper supervision and full safety equipment.