Police respond to concerns surrounding Hampshire car meet on 21 September

Last night (Saturday 21 September) police responded to concerns raised by the public around a car meet. A number of individuals associated with this were reported to be involved in dangerous and anti-social driving, public disorder and violence including an assault on a member of the public, and one driver was arrested for drug driving in Fareham.

The car meet began at Winchester Park & Ride before the group dispersed and travelled around the county, finally congregating at Southsea seafront shortly after midnight.

Local officers attended to engage with the group in Southsea, and were met with a hostile crowd of approximately 500 people, including individuals throwing stones at police. However, officers were able to successfully disperse the group safely away from the area to prevent any further escalation.

Chief Inspector Marcus Cator said: “We do recognise that not all car enthusiasts who meet up socially are involved in criminal or anti-social behaviour, however there were some individuals last night who demonstrated a clear lack of regard for the safety of not only themselves but other road users and the community at large.

“Our efforts are now ongoing to review CCTV footage and all available evidence to establish the extent of any offences that occurred across the county, and deal with anyone identified as being involved.”

If you have any information about the incidents last night, or any video footage or Dash Cam, please contact police on 101, quoting 44240406801, or submit information to us online here: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/tua/tell-us-about/cor/tell-us-about-existing-case-report/

You can also report incidents of dangerous or anti-social driving through Hants SNAP, which is a police initiative aimed at dealing with alleged road traffic offences: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/police-forces/hampshire-constabulary/areas/hants-snap/hantsnap/hants-snap---report-an-incident/