HUNDREDS of Go-peds and illegal off-road motorbikes were seized by police in Gwent last year, but residents say the problem is not going away. Young people using off-road machines illegally is a growing problem - particularly in Newport.

Between March 2005 and February 2006 Gwent Police confiscated 252 bikes and Go-peds, 109 of them in Newport.

The machines can only be used if the driver has a licence and insurance and they can only be ridden on private land with the landowner's permission.

They carried out operations on Gwent mountainsides, including near Blackwood, where officers used bikes themselves to keep up with the illegal off-roaders.

But residents in problem areas like Beechwood, Newport, say more needs to be done to stop the machines being used illegally on public land.

Pete Champion, 62, lives in Sickert Close with his wife Patricia, 65. They say up to 20 youths on off-road motorbikes and Go-peds use their cul-de-sac as a cut-through every week, tearing up grassy areas and causing a disturbance.

Mr Champion said: "Some go back and forth ten times in a night. "They're there until 9pm making a racket. They don't wear helmets and they go at a great speed. It's a danger and something needs to be done to stop them."

He said: "The council did put some barricades in. But the smaller bikes can get through and the bigger ones just break through anywhere they can."

The youths do not only drive Go-peds, but off-road motorbikes and even larger quad bikes.

Local councillor David Hando says he gets complaints from residents every other day.

He said the area near St Julian's Park has become a gathering point with youths who have become a serious nuisance. "They are a danger to everyone."

Mr and Mrs Champion have been complaining about the problem for the last two years.

Mr Champion said: "Last summer was particularly bad. We are afraid this summer will be even worse."