Two people arrested and three vehicles seized after 'hostile' Southsea car meet
Two people have been arrested and three vehicles seized as part of a police investigation into a car meet on Saturday night.
The meet began at Winchester Park and Ride, before moving on to Southampton, Eastleigh, Chandler's Ford, Fareham and finally gathering at Southsea seafront shortly after midnight. Police have seized a BMW M3, a Ford Fiesta and Volkswagen Golf as part of enquiries.
Police previously described the meet in Southsea as “hostile” with abuse and stones thrown at officers. Around 500 people attended the event.
A police spokesperson said: “As part of our ongoing investigation, we have been reviewing footage from a number of sources to identify those involved and any offences committed.
“On the day, we arrested a 19-year-old man from Swanmore on suspicion of drug driving, after his vehicle was stopped in Fareham just after 10pm. He has been released under investigation.
“A second man, aged 18 and from Tadley, has also now been arrested on suspicion of driving a vehicle dangerously in Southampton, after it was alleged he was seen driving whilst people were hanging out of the windows of his car. He has been released on bail.”
Chief Superintendent Darren O'Callaghan added: "We were contacted by many local residents in the areas this meet passed through, who were extremely concerned about the manner in which vehicles were being driven. This kind of anti-social behaviour and reckless driving has a considerable impact on our communities and it will not be tolerated.
"Our roads policing and investigations teams are working hard to collect and review all available footage, including CCTV, drone footage and body worn video from our officers who attended, to identify those involved and any offences they may have committed, in order for us to take the appropriate action.
"This is not about penalising respectful car enthusiasts, who do not wish to cause a disturbance and simply want to share their passion for cars, but it is about identifying those who engage in dangerous and anti-social acts and dealing with them.
"We are also continuing to work to build up our intelligence on when and where these meets are due to take place, to ensure we can have the right officers and capabilities on hand to deal with them swiftly and robustly."
Anyone with information can call 101, or by going to https://www.hampshire.police.uk/contact/af/contact-us-forms/provide-more-information-to-be-added-to-a-crime-report/, and quoting the reference 44240406801.
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/