People in Ebbw Vale have said off-road mountain bikes driving through the town centre and residential areas are putting lives in danger.

Mr Phillip Edwards, Ebbw Vale Market operator, said the problem has been going on for two to three years.  

“It’s extremely dangerous and an accident waiting to happen. My fear is that someone will be badly killed or hurt by the motorbikes that drive through Ebbw Vale Town on Market Day,” he said. 

The front of the KM Gifts & Accessories shopThe front of the KM Gifts & Accessories shop (Image: Kim Maguire)

Ms Kim Maguire, 60, owner of KM Gifts and Accessories, said: “It is not just on market days. It is not every day, but it is a nuisance for people. They have got no regard for pedestrians.  

“It will have an impact on customers because they are nervous when they hear the bikes. Especially elderly customers who cannot move out of the way as quickly.” 

A business owner who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said: “We have had them go through the town twice already today.” 

“They look like off-road mountain bikes, and they ride without number plates. It is so loud and annoying, but it is more about the danger of it.” 

Donna Nieghorn and her cat.Donna Nieghorn and her cat. (Image: Donna Nieghorn)

Ms Donna Nieghborn, 62, of Louvain Terrace, said she regularly hears vehicles driving dangerously near her home late on a Friday night.  

She believes the drivers are responsible for the death of her two-year-old Siamese cat called Goran.

On June 7, she said she could hear vehicles driving fast past her home around 11.30pm and could not see her cat in her kitchen.  

The next morning, she said she went looking for her cat and found it dead by the nearby industrial estate. 

“I have lost my cat, and he is irretrievable and irreplaceable. There is no other cat like him and he is gone. 

“When I moved to the area, I had a ten-point list of things important for me and on the top of the list was that my cat would be safe.” 

Ms Nieghorn made a Facebook post about the death of her cat on Facebook and other nearby residents expressed concerns about fast driving in the area.  

Mr Peter Smith, of Ebbw Vale, said: “When I go out with the milk bottles at night, I can hear the noises of exhausts and screeching tires.   

“Don't remember that from my day, as I had to get up for work in the morning. Years ago, only shift workers would be about late. Didn't see so many flattened Hedgehogs either.”