Police deployed drones at a recreation ground following calls to crack down on anti-social off-road motorbikes.

Earlier this month residents called for action to stop illegal off-road bikers at Barnfield Recreation Ground in Chatham, saying riders were regularly disturbing the peace and damaging land.

The calls came after Medway Council announced it was investigating new measures, such as a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO), to tackle anti-social and illegal driving across the district, following similar action in Dartford and Greenhithe.

Efforts to tackle the problem were stepped up last weekend, with officers seen at the park on Sunday, March 26.

Scott Dawson, Kent Police's Tactical Operations Acting Specials Chief Inspector, was also on site on Sunday and confirmed the operation, stating: "There was a dedicated operation which has taken place today which has specifically targeted the area of Barnfield Park and the local area to crack down on those individuals who wish to ride anti-socially.

"We will continue to target those individuals who continue to ride in any anti social manner and hold them accountable and dealt with accordingly."

Kent Police Specials also said they had been at the site, and used recent drone training to help monitor the park.

A statement from Kent Police added: "As part of a campaign to target the anti-social use of motorbikes in the Medway area, on Sunday March 26 officers from the community safety unit along with special constables and patrols from Kent Police’s Tactical Operations attended Barnfield Recreation Ground in Chatham."

Police said no offences were identified, but patrols were due to return to the area in the future.

Twitter user @BarnfieldBikes, which has led calls for police and Medway Council to tackle the issue, welcomed the police presence and hoped patrols would return regularly.

But they said Medway Council also needed to take responsibility for the problem.

"It is still a daily issue," they added. "The issue is that the council have taken no responsibility, despite it being their land. The only action taken by the council has been to put up a few signs. However, yobs have torn them down. They were cheaply made signs - not metal.

"The council show a total disregard for the safety of users of the field and don't care about the detrimental impact this is having on residents. A couple of cheap signs isn't good enough. There has been some police presence but getting through to the police to report the bikes takes a long time and they don't always turn it."

Medway Council said the signs that were put up are temporary, pending the results of the PSPO consultation.

Last month Ian Gilmore, head of environmental and regulatory services at Medway Council, said: "The council understood concerns was doing everything it could to tackle reports of nuisance vehicles.

He added: “We have CCTV cameras at the recreation ground and footage can be used as evidence in criminal investigations, carried out by the police.

“We have also launched a public consultation to look into the impact of nuisance vehicles across Medway. We are considering putting a Public Space Protection Order (PSPO) in place which would give our officers powers to issue fixed penalty notices to the riders of vehicles being used anti-socially. We would encourage residents to have their say by visiting medway.gov.uk/PSPOSurvey. The deadline for responses is midnight on Sunday, May 14.

“We would encourage residents to continue reporting incidents of nuisance vehicles to the police.”