LOCALS in a south London suburb are calling for an end to “dangerous” car drifting in a supermarket car park – which they say has kept them and their children awake for years.
Residents in Elmers End say petrolheads using a Tesco superstore’s car park keeps them up at night and lowers their quality of life.
Videos of a recent car meet show crowds of people having to dodge out of the way as screeching cars drift around the car park.
Liam Conlon, the Labour MP for the area, says so many of his constituents have written to him about the issue that he started a petition calling for action.
He says cars regularly visit the supermarket car park to race, do ‘doughnuts’, drift and rev their engines.
Local Luke Bishop said the cars often wake his seven-year-old son at night, who is frightened by the loud noises.
“We hear the revving and the noise a lot and often have to reassure my son over what it is,” he said.
“I’m not opposed to people having fun and recognise that a bit of noise is the cost of living in a city, but it really is too loud and antisocial.
“There will be people who live much nearer who must feel it even more.”
Conlon’s petition has now racked up nearly a thousand signatures, but said he’s pleased that Tesco now appear to be taking ‘serious action’ to prevent cars from getting into the car park after the store closes.
“I have heard from people that it has gone on for years,” he said. “It’s a huge Tesco with a huge car park out the front.
“On a Friday or Saturday night, cars go down and do racing, donuts, revving up their engines and sprint racing.
“This can go on until three or four in the morning. Residents say it wakes them up, wakes up their children and impacts their quality of life.
“Sometimes, there are hundreds of people down there.
“Hundreds of people were commenting on Facebook and writing to me about it.” [The local council] have said: ‘It’s not our problem, because it’s not our land’.
“That’s why I started the petition for Tesco and Horizon Parking to put in measures that would prevent this from happening.”
Conlon added that though there are ANPR cameras in the car park, many drivers attending car meets remove their number plates to avoid recognition.
“It’s an extra demand on police time, when they could be off doing much better things,” he continued.
“My solution is to put in a barrier at the car park to prevent cars from going in after the store is closed.
“We have tried other things but they haven’t worked. We have got to try something different and this seems to be the best solution.
“If you live nearby, it’s not a minor issue. It makes people feel unsafe – it’s anti-social behaviour and it’s really affecting local residents.”
Sharmone, a dad of four who has lived in the area for five years, took a video of a recent car meet after following the noises to the Tesco car park one evening earlier this month and being shocked at what he found.
The 57-year-old said: “I was just coming home from work at about two o’clock in the morning.
“I could hear a loud noise. At first, I thought it was a car accident.
“I got back in my car and drove to the end of the road.
“I could hear it and smell fire. It got louder and louder, and when I got to Tesco there were cars and people everywhere, and the smell of tyres.
“I saw what was going on and thought, ‘How can this be happening at this time in the morning and the police aren’t here?’.
“I was worried for my safety and baffled that it could take place somewhere like this.
“I’m surprised nobody got injured. I’ve heard noises before, but not on that scale.
“For the people who live next to the store, it must do their heads in.
“It’s not just the noise, it’s the smell of the tyres.”
Conlon added that, following recent meetings with management at the Tesco superstore, he believes a lasting solution could be on the horizon.
“Following our petition signed by almost 1,000 people, and meetings with Tesco HQ and the store manager last week, I’m pleased that Tesco are now taking serious action,” he said.
“The upper car park barrier has been repaired, fencing is going up each night, and Tesco will assess a permanent barrier for the lower car park this week.
“I’ll keep working with Tesco until residents get the lasting solution they deserve.”
A spokesperson for Tesco said: “We take reports of anti-social behaviour within our car parks very seriously and have been working proactively to prevent anti-social behaviour by groups of motorists in the car park of our Elmers End Superstore.”
They added that measures already introduced to deter anti-social behaviour at the store include a barrier to prevent access to the upper level of the car park outside of store opening times, speed bumps installed on the ground floor car park and a 20-minute maximum car parking stay time outside of store opening hours.
