CRICKET bat wielding youths on mopeds have been terrorising Southampton motorists.

In one incident riders pulled up to a car waiting at traffic lights smashing its windscreen and then driving off.

According to police, the driver was uninjured following the attack which took place at the junction of Bursledon and Orpen Road at around 11pm on Wednesday.

In another incident at the junction of Bursledon and Botley Road, moped riders came up behind a driver throwing something at his car and leaving a white streak mark across its windows.

Anyone who witnessed this incident is urged to call police on 101 and quote 44190361937.

Sholing resident Chris Furmage, 66, said: “The anti-social behaviour in the area is soul-destroying. My garage was broken into in August and my motorbike was stolen. It’s all over the city. The law needs changing. The youngsters feel they can get away with anything. I have lived here for 40-years and in the last couple of years it has got worse.”

The moped attacks come as police launched an appeal to hunt down the rider and passenger of a dark green and white scrambler bike being ridden in the Lordshill area of the city.

They want to identify them after they rode the bike at speed through the underpass at Lordshill District Centre, narrowly missing two 10-year-olds walking home from school last Wednesday.

The same bike has been seen on several other occasions in the Southampton west area.

On October 1 the bike, described as dark green and white, was in convoy with an orange and white scrambler bike on Flamborough Close.

PC Simon Peacock, heading up Operation Torque to crack down on motorcycle nuisance across the city, said: “Operation Torque is our response to the illegal and dangerous use of motorcycles in the Southampton west area. It remains a community priority and I am committed to tackling the problem and making our footpaths and green spaces safer places. We have seen a reduction in the issue over the last few years and the success has been down to help from the community, reporting incidents to us, providing information, pictures, video and dash-cam footage.

“We continue to work closely with partner agencies to tackle the issue and I want to maintain the level of success we have already seen. If you live, work or visit the Southampton west area I need your help to reduce these incidents. As you know, we can’t chase these riders, so we need to be able to identify them in other ways.

“We need to know, who is using these motorbikes to ride illegally and anti-socially? Where are they being kept?

“Have you seen motorbikes being taken into an address, shed, garage or other building?

“Do you have dashcam, pictures or video of motorbikes being used illegally and anti-socially in the Southampton west area? You can provide the information to us anonymously and we will do everything we can to identify and prosecute offenders.”