POLICE have vowed to do everything they can to stop next year’s Bulldog Bash going ahead – despite the four-day festival passing without serious incident.
More than 20,000 motorcycle fans flocked to the 23rd Bulldog Bash at the weekend, held at Long Marston airfield, near Stratford-upon-Avon.
Police had been concerned about violence between rival biker gangs following the 2007 murder of Hells Angel Gerry Tobin and a riot at Birmingham Airport last year.
Top officers had initially tried to revoke the festival’s licence.
But organisers said the event was a huge success and passed without trouble.
Event organiser John Britt said: “Everybody had a great time and there was a really good atmosphere.
“It was a family event and there were lots and lots of kids running around.”
Each day, 450 officers and staff from Warwickshire Police and five other surrounding forces were on duty.
Figures released showed 448 people were searched and 11 were arrested for offences
including assault and suspected drug offences.
Nine lock knives were surrendered and small amounts of substances believed to be cannabis, cocaine and amphetamine were also recovered.
There were 13 street cautions for drugs offences and one for possession of an offensive weapon.
Chief Constable Keith Bristow said: “While the policing operation did result in a number of arrests, I am relieved that
no one was killed or seriously injured this year as a direct result of having attended this event.
“However, we have been unable to prevent an organised crime group from holding a fundraising event in the county and we will therefore continue to explore all legal opportunities available to us – both criminal and civil – to achieve this outcome before August 2010.
“I know that the vast majority of people attending the Bulldog Bash were decent law-abiding motorcyclists or music fans and also that some members of the Hells Angels are not involved in criminality.
“However, the Hells Angels are designated as an organised crime group and are, without doubt, involved in extreme violence both in this country and abroad.
“We would be failing in our duty to protect communities from harm if we did not do everything possible to remove their ability to fundraise in Warwickshire in support of their criminal activity elsewhere.”
Mr Bristow added that Warwickshire Police would welcome and support a well organised and safe motorcycle event, not operated under the influence of an organised crime group, in the county next year.
But bikers attending the festival criticised the heavy police presence.
One of the event’s organisers, who calls himself ‘Echo’, said: “It’s unnecessary. They put on a big police operation last year. It cost £1.4million and they only stopped 500 people and they only ended up with three prosecutions.
“It’s a completely over the top reaction. We accept that the police have a responsibility, but we police the site, there’s never any problems.”
Lets see the Warwickshire police open their books and see how they justify spending a ridiculous amount of the public's money on something that was never needed in the first place. There has never been any trouble at the Bulldog Bash and I'm sure Gerry would hate Bristow using him as a reason to stop it. Gerry Loved the Bulldog as do we all. Long Live the Bulldog Bash.
ReplyDeleteAs an "organised crime group" the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a failure. Its been in the UK for over 30 years, has hundreds of members in locations all around the country and has not yet really done anything notable yet.
ReplyDeleteEven a ratio of offences per member is probably substantially less than my local youth club.
I am, of course, ignoring the crimes of being universally butt-ugly and having appalling tastes in motorcycle technology, at these they really do excel.
However, as an escapist motorcycle club revelling in myths and legends from half a century ago on the other side of the Atlantic, it is a great success.
The problem is the police are pissed off. The Bulldog Bash is a well-established community event run by a club who wont give them a look-in. Despite their blatant attempts to twist the facts in an attempt to bring fear of ”harm” to the people of Warwickshire the establishment there repeatedly supports this successful, enjoyable and safe event, repeatedly denting the police ego.
But, having hundreds of police checking and searching all the good people who go to this event is wasting money (£3 million in the last 18 months) and creating barriers between the community and the police.
It is time the policing of the event was put back onto the basis that the facts of the case justify. The police keep escalating matters every time they get knocked back or are shown to be wrong yet again. Rather than ending it through some damaging crisis why not let us do it the sensible way?
Sign the Downing Street petition for sensible policing of the event: -
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/asscheifholland/
Or maybe I’m wrong, maybe next summer this band of desperados will ride out of the desert, rape our daughters and eat our pet gerbils.
But I doubt it.
Rolo