By Conor Sharkey

THOSE involved in a motor cruise in Strabane at the weekend have warned that banning future events could force the craze underground.

Close to 1,000 car enthusiasts gathered at the old ASDA car park on Sunday night to see heavily modified vehicles from across the North West perform a range of high octane manoeuvres.

And while the event passed off without injury to spectators, an assault on a police officer and the detection of motoring offences has left the future of car cruising in Strabane in serious doubt.

Speaking on Tuesday, the PSNI would not be drawn on whether similar events would be given the go-ahead, however they did say that Sunday's cruise did give rise to serious concerns for the safety of spectators.

The entire event was filmed by police and they said they would be keeping the matter under investigation for the time being.

But while the PSNI appear to have stepped back to consider their next move, the local District Policing Partnership have called for an immediate zero tolerance stance to be adopted against cruise organisers.

For a large percentage of the general public such events will no doubt seem as nothing more than anti-social activity, but local enthusiasts believe outlawing them will lead to even greater problems.

Speaking yesterday, one of those central to Sunday evening's event at Asda said that organisers were keen to work within the parameters of the law and wanted to liaise with the PSNI on future cruises.

But, he warned, if police did decide to make the increasingly popular past time illegal, they ran the risk of forcing participants to exercise their hobby on the open road.

With pressure growing on police for a total crackdown and organisers refusing to back down, the question remains: what next for car cruisers in Strabane?