by People living in an exclusive part of London, barely a stone’s throw from Buckingham Palace, are being visited by a nightly menace – which they say is wreaking havoc on their lives.
Most of the time, St James is one of the most exclusive postcodes in the UK. Last year, the average house price was more than £3,.3m.
But every Sunday around midnight, Waterloo Place becomes “dangerous”. Boy racers, as they are called, come down in the middle of the night to retrieve their engines and do tricks.
Residents say petrolheads spend hours making doughnuts, blasting their “souped-up engines”, and creating noise “so loud it’s like an explosion”.
READ MORE: The cult sandwich shop that people have been waiting for for two years
People living in the area say their lives have been made miserable – struggling to sleep and stressed by what they say is an “accident waiting to happen”. Others, who filmed the meetings so they can report them to the police, have been “intimidated” by the organizers, they say.
Residents say the drivers “know what they’re doing is illegal” because they stick their car number plates and often wear hoods and balaclavas. And now, local people are campaigning in the hope of bringing back funding to police road teams so something can be done before someone is seriously hurt.
Anne Mannion, who has lived in the West End for almost 40 years, said: “I’ve lived in central London, in the theatre, in nightclubs, on busy roads, for several years. I know noise. It’s used from me. You expect it – and you treat it as a privilege to live in these places.”
“But this? This is the whole other level. It’s really incredible. When it first started happening, I thought there were explosions. That’s what it sounds like. My bed shakes. It feels like a plane taking off off. I mean – there are hundreds of big cars as well as cars with ‘soup’ engines.”
“It’s just terrible. All kinds of people live in this building. Elderly people, families with children, professionals who have to get up early in the morning. It has to stop. It’s driving people away. Move my daughter out because she couldn’t take it anymore.”
Mrs Mannion, a media lawyer, said the car rallies started during the lockdown when no one was on the roads. Since then, they have continued almost every weekend – including on Bank Holidays and even Christmas Day.
“They have no respect for people’s lives – or their right to have a day off,” Mrs Mannion said. “They have no respect for the roads either. They’re driving dangerously – doing donuts and the like. And they’re blocking all traffic from Trafalgar Square – what about an ambulance?”
“At one of the recent meetings, they even set off fireworks.”
Mrs Mannion used to go down from her house to film the car – sending footage to the Met Police and Westminster Council. Then, drivers could be fined for dangerous driving – and for breaching a Public Space Protection Order in force in the area.
However, she is apprehensive about doing this because of “intimidating” behavior from the organizers. The mother, who is in her late 50s, said: “It’s too dangerous for me to film them now because they recognize me. Apart from the cars being dangerous, the men approach me when I go down there.
“They ask me why I’m filming. They laugh at me. They’ve posted videos of me on TikTok. It’s intimidating. I feel in danger. But they know what they’re doing is illegal. They cover their number plates. They think they’re smart.”
Sanzhar Abishev, another local resident, is also worried about the gatherings – which he says are a danger to the community. The 31-year-old said: “They drive recklessly. They do donuts at high speed. They start fires and their engines overheat. They risk exploding.
“They block all lanes of traffic – so there’s no way an ambulance can get through. And they’re out of control next to hundreds of spectators. It’s an accident waiting to happen. When the police come, run away
Mr Abishev, a local business owner, said the meetings are “very well planned”.
He said: “They are not done on a whim. They can happen every single weekend. They usually start late but sometimes start as early as 4 or 5:00 – and can go on until past 2 or 3:00 Before that, the local police officers were extremely helpful.
“While many drivers remove their number plates – which of course is an offense in itself. Now, local residents and businesses have to spend their time pitching in to help – creating their own neighborhood watches and do investigative work themselves.”
“It has to be stopped. For the residents – for whom this is extremely destructive and disruptive – and for London. “It’s not a good reflection of our capital if tourists see people driving dangerously.”
Mrs Mannion added: “The police were incredible when they could help. We need them back so we can show these racers they can’t do this anymore.”
Earlier this month, four drivers were issued fixed penalty notices after they were caught on camera lighting up and revving their engines at one such late-night car rally. Some of the cars found guilty included a highly tuned BMW coupe and a Mercedes C63 AMG worth almost £100k, Westminster City Council (WCC) said.
The drivers were caught after triggering noise cameras. Installed in 2021, the cameras are activated when they detect incidents above 80-90 decibels – which is as loud as standing next to a London Underground train.
The camera then uses AI to differentiate an engine sound from a normal car horn by monitoring the sound patterns. Commenting on the carpool, Councilor Aicha Less, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Community Protection at Westminster City Council, said: “Not only is driving like this unwelcome in Westminster, it is also extremely dangerous.”
“We often notice an increase in this behavior during the summer, but we will continue to work throughout the year to discourage this from happening. with our partners we can identify others.”
“If you want to meet cars like this, our streets are not the place for it.”
The Met Police have also been contacted for comment.
