NEW powers to tackle anti social driving in Bradford are the latest tool at the disposal of police to make the district's road safer, Councillors have been told.

A District wide public space protection order that has recent come into play allows police to fine drivers for acts that are anti-social, but not necessarily illegal.

These could include loud revving of engines or drivers who stop in the middle of the road to chat to other drivers or passengers.

Members of Bradford Council's Corporate Scrutiny Committee were told of the orders, and how they will soon be enforced, at a meeting on Thursday.

In an update on public safety issues, Inspector Nick Haigh of West Yorkshire Police told members of the force's Operation Steerside - set up to tackle danger driving in Bradford.

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Since it was set up in early 2016, hundreds of cars had been seized under the operation, and thousands of drivers fined or handed warnings about their driving.

Insp Haigh said that as well as the work on the ground, the force worked with partners to get the message out. Over 63,000 pupils had seen presentations by Steerside officers.

He said: "Together with our combined efforts we can make our roads a safer place to be."

Reports on the operation in local media and on social media had helped get the message out, the Committee was told, with each Tweet by Operation Steerside viewed around 8,000 times, and each Facebook post viewed 10,000 times.

One story, about a Steerside stop that found counterfeit Mcdonalds coffee vouchers in the vehicle, was picked up by the Telegraph & Argus and then went global - with even Fox News running a piece on the stop.

He said: "That is something we're really proud of."

Bradford Council approved the anti-social driving public space protection order last year, making it the first Council in the country to approve a district wide order.

Signs were installed across Bradford in the past few weeks, and members were told that police would soon be enforcing the orders - handing out fixed penalty notices to motorists who break the order.

Acts that the police can now take action against include playing loud music in a car, shouting obscenities or harassing people from their cars, or motorists gathering to take part in “car cruising events”.

It was one of the "frustrations" of the current system, the meeting was told, that people could park in the middle of the road to have a conversation with a pedestrian, with the police having little power to punish them for it.

Now such incidents can see drivers fined, and new police powers mean they can hand out fines of up to £2,000.

Insp Haigh said: "Each case will be taken on its merits. We could use these fines or we could use Section 59 notices in some cases."

The PSPO scheme recently was nominated for a ‘John Connell Local Authority Award’ from the Noise Abatement Society. The scheme won "highly commended," with the society saying: "While many councils fear legal challenges when using such powers this council said ’not on our watch’."

Chair Nazam Azam (Lab, City) said the operation may have made roads safer, but added: "These may be problems faced by other cities in the country, but that doesn't give re-assurance to our residents. A lot of the public don't feel that driving in Bradford is improving.

"If it is what it is now with Steerside I can't imagine how bad it would have been without Steerside."