Bikers gathering en masse in Plymouth’s Barbican area and revving engines are causing havoc for residents, businesses and visitors.

Plymouth Labour councillor Alison Raynsford is pushing for a noise camera to be installed after problems in Southside Street have hit new levels, with children being unable to sleep and businesses trade being affected.

The St Peter and the Waterfront councillor raised the issue at the week’s Plymouth City Council meeting, saying noise was the main concern among her residents and it was causing “great anger”.

She said that whilst the Barbican was a hotspot for groups of bikers, other areas in her ward were also seeing problems, including Western Approach car park and Millbay.

A former pillion passenger in her younger days, Cllr Raynsford said she understood the excitement and fun of motorbikes, but the actions of some motorcyclists constituted anti-social behaviour.

Devon and Cornwall police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez will be asked to “prioritise Plymouth” for a noise camera which can detect excess sound from nuisance vehicles, including those with modified exhausts or any vehicle driven aggressively with excess revving.

The city council also wants to work with the police to adopt any other measures to help, including talking with organisers of bike gatherings which occur on Thursdays and Sundays.

“Bikers seem to forget that Southside Street and the Barbican is a dense residential area as well as being tourist hot spot,” said Cllr Raynsford.

“Groups of bikers gather on Sundays and Thursdays en masse and rev their way along what is effectively an echo chamber because of the narrow streets and high buildings.”

She thanked the police for random checks on MOTs and exhausts, but said more needed to be done to tackle the problem.

“The noise is really penetrating especially when children are trying to sleep or people are trying to have a quiet meal in a restaurant. The police are looking for any illegal adjustments on these bikes but I would ask all of the riders to be considerate, thoughtful and respectful of others who live, work and visit the area.”

She said the council had looked at other areas in the Barbican that the bikers could be redirected to, but had drawn a blank, partly due to the lack of protection on the quayside.

“Groups regularly meet in the Cap’n Jaspers area for a get together which is lovely and fun but we are asking the organisers to discourage what is effectively ASB,” she said.

Plymouth Sutton and Devonport Labour MP Luke Pollard previously tried and failed to get the former Conservative government to include Plymouth in a pilot scheme for new camera technology to detect vehicles flouting legal noise limits.

Plymouth City Council’s community safety champion and chair of the Devon and Cornwall Police and Crime Panel, Sally Haydon, will be directly asking police and crime commissioner Alison Hernandez, whose work she scrutinises, if she can now step in.

Plymouth City Council is implementing a new public space protection order (PSPO) designed to crack down on ASB in nine of the city’s car parks, including Western Approach, after reports of large groups of motorcyclists and cars gathering, drug use and stairwells being used as toilets.

The order would give police and authorised officers the power to move people on if they’re gathering or causing disruption without a legitimate parking reason.