Renfrew residents hit out at gatherings of 'noisy' boy racers

Residents have slammed the conduct of “noisy” boy racers, who have been revving their engines and causing chaos in Renfrew.

Eyewitnesses say gatherings started at hotspots such as Blythswood Retail Park last summer and have rumbled on approximately every five to six weeks.

The community claim they have regularly been subjected to the racket on Sunday evenings, adding that it often spills out on to Inchinnan Road.

Lindsay McKillop, secretary of Renfrew Community Council, said: “When you come out, you see plumes of dust and smoke.

“These people are feet away, they’re impacted more than anybody. I live two streets back and what I hear is enough.

“My fear is they are coming into the street, they’re going round the street, they’re doing circuits.

“We’ve got wee ones out playing. At night the children can’t get to sleep.

“The noise is affecting a local residential complex. We’ve got a member that stays in there and she says it’s absolutely dire.”

Councillor Jamie McGuire, who represents Renfrew North and Braehead, said the situation is “unacceptable”.

He confirmed his intention to contact council officers on the matter and see what can be done to address it.

The elected member said: “We’ve got to think about community safety and kids playing out on the streets.

“We need to take action before something happens. We need to take initiative.

“I plan to raise it with council officers. At the end of the day you can’t have people driving recklessly in our community.

“We need to put a stop to this. It’s unacceptable that we have people in the community who aren’t feeling safe.”

Footage filmed last month captured a number of cars at the nearby Mac Storage facility on Argyll Avenue.

The video shows a vehicle spinning doughnuts and generating clouds of smoke, sparking concerns that the gatherings had spread to other sites.

However, when the business was contacted a spokesman said this related to the filming of a music video.

He said it was a “one-off situation” after a group of young people borrowed the site for a production, adding that he didn’t realise this would happen.

“It was a mistake,” he said, “I didn’t know that that is what it was going to entail.

“I’m very sorry for any issues that it’s caused. It will not be happening again.

“We try to help young people and businesses. We want to work with the community and help people.”

A spokeswoman for Renfrewshire Council said: “We are aware of issues in this area of Renfrew and have reported residents’ concerns to Police Scotland through the Renfrewshire Community Safety Partnership who will investigate and monitor the area as required.”

Story by Jack Thomson, Local Democracy Reporting Service