Boy racers on website

The internet is being used by boy racers in Cannock to show off their crazy driving, it was revealed today.

The video website YouTube features a number of clips from drivers showing them performing dangerous maneouvres on roads in the town. Residents near Eastern Way and Lichfield Road have called for action to thwart what they say is a nuisance.

They believe the videos are evidence that police should act on.

In one video a group of seven or eight young men lean on a car as the driver accelerates spinning the wheel and creating plumes of smoke.

In another clip two girls video from the passenger seat as a male driver performs handbrake turns at the Orbital in Cannock during icy conditions.

Other videos show cars accelerating along Eastern Way at high speed late at night and taking the roundabout by the Biffa Waste Site at high speed, with clips of a car's speedometer showing 80 miles per hour.

Internet video footage is now a major part of the car cruising scene in the UK.

Elizabeth Partington, who lives on Lichfield Road, said the video clips proved how irresponsible the drivers were being.

She said: "They are just showing off to their friends but it is very dangerous because it's encouraging others.

"These videos show what we the residents are having to put up with."

Mrs Partington is just one of a group of people living on Lichfield Road who say the cars are making their lives hell.

A noise monitor placed inside the 60-year-old's house found noise levels from cars were excessive and a report by Cannock Council said the noise was "highly intrusive".

Cannock police has carried out a number of operations against boy racers and has successfully closed Sainsbury's car park where many drivers were meeting. But officers have said the problem will not go away.