A crackdown on car cruises in the Castle Donington area looks set to come into force.

The cruises have been a problem since the village's relief road opened in 2020, a report submitted ahead of a report submitted ahead of next week's cabinet meeting of North West Leicestershire District Council states.

There have been "regular" large car meets in the area over these years which are typically organised in advance and advertised on social media, the documents added.

This year alone, there have been "almost weekly" reports of races in the village with "anywhere between 10 and 100 vehicles" taking part and "around double" the number of spectators.

These meets result in "dangerous driving" on local roads which cause "risks to other road users", the council said. They also create "noise disturbances" for residents "from engines and music", and lead to littering, broken street furniture and public roads being blocked.

Now, the local authority is proposing to introduce a new Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) to tackle the cruises. This will give council officers and the police the power to shut down the meets and issue sanctions, including fines, to anyone taking part in, allowing their vehicle to be used in, or watching them.

A PSPO related to the meets has previously been in effect in the area, but this expired earlier this year. The council said this "had a positive impact on road safety and local communities".

Where the previous restrictions only applied to specific areas of Castle Donington, the new PSPO would apply to the whole village, if approved at next week's meeting. Once approved, the order would come into effect immediately and would last three years, at which point it would need to be extended to continue the powers.

The authority said the expanded restrictions are "reasonable" due to the "number and frequency of reports received relating to car cruising" and the "negative impact" the meets are having on residents. A public consultation was carried out over the proposal with the plan largely receiving support.

Of the 78 responses received, 70 were from local residents. Some 66 people said they had been impacted by the meets and 70 respondents described them as either a "very big problem" (38 people) or a "big problem" (32 people).

Only five respondents said they were "not a problem at all", with the remaining three feeling they were "not a very big problem". Some 71 people said they supported the proposed new powers, six said they did not and one replied with "maybe".