By Conor Sharkey

A new police initiative aimed at curbing Strabane's 'boy racer' culture is set to be rolled out across the District.

Increases in detections for speeding, dangerous driving and driving without proper documentation has prompted the PSNI to introduce Young Driver Awareness Surgeries here.

It is hoped the workshops will be run in conjunction with local community groups and will be aimed at 17-24 year olds.

Outlining the thinking behind the Surgeries, Inspector Ivor Morton said, "There is a problem with young drivers in Strabane, although it is not major at present.

"PSNI Neighbourhood Teams are arranging a Surgery to raise awareness of the consequences of bad driving.

"What we are saying to young drivers is, if you are caught driving in a poor manner, it can have a very serious impact on your future," he said.

"Between August last year and into February this year, there was a very high number of people who lost their lives on the roads. Many of these were down to tragic accidents, but a number were as a result of bad driving, speeding and lack of attention.

"Following this, we introduced a very simple policy of swift justice.

"Anyone caught driving poorly will be charged and brought before the court in a very short space of time because we are very determined to stamp this sort of thing out," he said.

Locally, the PSNI has increased weekend patrols of town centre car parks and the By-Pass.

"If we do catch anyone donutting or fishtailing, we take it very seriously. Bad standards of driving will not be tolerated and anyone caught driving outside the law is putting their licence at risk."

It is hoped the awareness workshops will be operating by November and the Inspector is keen to hear from any group wishing to participate.

"This isn't about the police waving the big finger at young people, but it is about helping them understanding what we are trying to do.

Community groups can contact the Inspector on 0845 600 8000.