Alex Bish

Sports clubs in Kent and Sussex report extensive damage to rugby, football and cricket pitches caused by off-road bikes, quad bikes, electric scooters and other vehicles. Club representatives describe injuries, postponed matches, risks to players and spectators, and deliberate damage to cricket wickets. Local councils have spent thousands of pounds on barriers, while Kent Police confiscated 30 vehicles during a recent operation. New powers under the Policing and Crime Act 2026 allow police to seize vehicles used antisocially without a prior warning and destroy them after seven days rather than 14.

Former prison officer Martin Geddes, who was seriously assaulted by an inmate, is calling for Tasers to be made available across the prison estate. The Ministry of Justice plans to extend access to 500 additional officers after a trial in four English prisons, where Tasers were drawn or used as warnings in five incidents but never fired. The expansion follows more than 31,000 recorded prison assaults in England and Wales in 2025 and a sharp rise in staff absences linked to mental ill-health. Prison governors and officers support controlled wider access, while former governor John Podmore urges caution and the Howard League for Penal Reform argues that more weapons could escalate tensions and distract from overcrowding and inadequate prison regimes.