Education and better signage are the best way to steer quad bikes away from popular holiday beaches, parish councillors have pledged.Clamping down on the problem has long been a priority for Ormesby with Scratby Parish Council said Ron Eminson, describing the saga as “a four year nightmare.

Education and better signage are the best way to steer quad bikes away from popular holiday beaches, parish councillors have pledged.

Clamping down on the problem has long been a priority for Ormesby with Scratby Parish Council said Ron Eminson, describing the saga as “a four year nightmare.”

He told police representatives Insp Teresa Eagleton and Sgt Andy Brown at a meeting on Monday night that he was disappointed with the police response and that he was worried about quad bikes conflicting with other beach users and causing an accident.

But Insp Eagleton said officers had not had a single complaint this year and queried the scale of the problem. She said: “There has been a huge amount of work done. One of the biggest things has been how does it impact on the community? But since January we have not had one call from a member of the public.

“I have to go on the issues of the community as a whole. We have limited resources and at the moment it's not an issue that is being brought to us.”

Sgt Brown said he had looked into the issue but found many problems to do with land ownership, vehicle registration and evidence gathering.

He said: “I have met with Ron and spent around two hours at his home address. I showed him some correspondence from the Crown Prosecution Service relating to the offence. The issue we have regarding vehicles on beaches is that most of the beaches north of Caister are privately owned. But if it's between the high and low water marks it becomes an offence.

“We do not have a vehicle that is capable of getting on the beach to stop them and we do not have a time scale to work with although the influx tends to be on bank holidays and during the holiday period.

“My theory is that they may not realise it's an offence to ride along the beach. They may be on holiday themselves.

“If anyone can provide me with information of who they are I will go round and speak to them. We rely on the members of the public as our eyes and ears. We cannot stand there for hours on end waiting for these vehicles to turn up. If you see quad bikes on the beach then please report it.”

Sgt Brown said he had put together a leaflet that is available from holiday camps warning that they might be committing an offence. He had also targeted places that sold quad bikes.

Parish council chairman Geoff Freeman said education was the way forward, and suggested contacting Hemsby Parish Council about putting signs up at points where quad bikes gain access to the beach.

To report quad bikes on the beach or any other issues call 0845 4564567.