Car cruisers are being warned that police officers will take robust action against anyone they catch illegally road racing in the Lakeside area.

A three year Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) was put into force last December and prohibits drivers, passengers and spectators taking part in car cruising.

It covers the area from the A13 between the M25 and the railway bridge, south to the River Thames.

A recent incident saw police called to West Thurrock Way in Grays after cars were seen racing and a large gathering of people on the roadside.

Officers attended the incident and stopped one driver, who was reported for careless driving.

While police were dealing with the incident, which took place at 10pm on September 10, individuals in the crowd set off fireworks near police vehicles and threw rubbish.

The cars and crowd were cleared by midnight and enquiries are ongoing.

Just a week later police dealt with a number of drivers in the Lakeside area for careless driving, speeding and motoring offences, including issuing a number of fixed penalty notices for obstruction and warnings under Section 59 of the Police Reform Act 2002 – including one for a driver with a flaming exhaust.

Thurrock Council and Essex Police obtained the PSPO to combat the long standing issue of car cruising and following incidents last year in which two motorcyclists and a pedestrian suffered serious injuries.

Roads policing Sergeant Simon Willsher said: "There has been relatively few issues since the order was put in place.

"However, there have been some incidents very recently and we want to reinforce the message that the actions of a minority of reckless drivers will not be tolerated.

"While we will support the rights of car enthusiasts to gather in appropriate places and socialise, we will never accept people treating public roads as racetracks and putting themselves and other roads users at risk.

"We will robustly deal with all offenders who breach the order and commit traffic offences, using a combination of powers including fines and seizing their vehicles.

"We use evidence from a number of sources, including cameras seized from the racers themselves, which capture footage of their actions. We seized one camera following an event on September 17 and are reviewing the footage, which could lead to further action being taken against anyone seen to be committing offences.”

Anyone who breaches the order is liable to a fixed penalty fine of up to £100 while non-payment can lead to a fine of up to £1,000.

Councillor Pauline Tolson, Thurrock Council Portfolio Holder for Environment, said: "We are pleased that this continued co-operation is having an impact and other road users around Lakeside are not affected to the degree were previously by illegal road racing.

"With the spike in activity recently, it is right that we remind people the order is in place and the hazards they cause to other motorists.

"The safety of road users is paramount and I want to thank the police for the great work they are doing to enforce the PSPO.”