Police save A1 BMX teens

7:30am Tuesday 6th November 2012 in News By Janet Gleeson

A1 adventure: Frankie Atkinson, Callum Buckton and Callum Waggett. A1 adventure: Frankie Atkinson, Callum Buckton and Callum Waggett.

THREE teenagers were rescued by police as they diced with death riding their BMX bikes - down the region's  busiest road.

Daredevil friends, Frankie Atkinson, Callum Buckton and Callum Waggett, all 13, decided to have an adventure travelling from their homes in Redcar to 360 indoor skate park in Richmond, North Yorkshire, to try out their bikes.

They bought what they thought were combined train and bus tickets believing they could take their bikes aboard both - but at Darlington they were told they couldn’t take their BMX’s on the bus.

Refusing to put the brakes on Saturday's day out, they got on their bikes and using one of their phones for directions headed off - pedalling down the dual carruageway of the A1.

“At first it was not so bad, but then when we got onto the second bit of road it was scary,” said Callum Buckton.

“There were a few drivers pipping at us and then this police car arrived. He had a little go at us because obviously we shouldn’t have been there, we thought we were going to be in real trouble, then he said they would give us a lift and he was really nice.

"A van arrived and the bikes went in there and we got into the police car.”

Lia Peters of 360 Skate Park said:”It was great community policing, when they arrived with the lads in the back of the police car we thought there’d been some big problem, but they were doing an excellent job of keeping our kids safe.

“The boys hadn’t realized I don’t think how far it was, and they thought they could get the bus. It all worked out well in the end thanks to the police, but it could have been totally different, it’s definitely not the road to be riding a BMX bike on.”

The skate park was so impressed by their dedication they organized a lift home to make sure they didn’t have to tackle the A1 again.

Inspector Mark Gee, of the Richmond Safer Neighbourhood Team, said: “When the three lads were spotted riding BMX bikes on the A1 it was clear that they were putting themselves at risk.

"Therefore the officer involved rightly stepped in and helped the teenagers - and their bikes - to safely reach their destination in Richmond. The lads were really grateful for the assistance they received.“

Comments(15)

Madadrian says...
8:39am Tue 6 Nov 12

It's not illegal to ride a bike on the A1. It is illegal to ride a bike on the A1M

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my views arent always right but who says your are says...
8:58am Tue 6 Nov 12

This shouldnt be a celebrated well done had these boys been wiped out the driver would be facing charges now and a lifetime of guilt. the police should of returned them back to darlington and put them on the train home.

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jps101 says...
9:34am Tue 6 Nov 12

Madadrian wrote:
It's not illegal to ride a bike on the A1. It is illegal to ride a bike on the A1M
And yet with the same speeds and mostly no hard shoulder the A1 has to be a lot more dangerous than the A1M!

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ianh says...
10:03am Tue 6 Nov 12

Good, common sense policing.
Yes, the kids could have been packed off home.
Instead, the police helped them out and the kids will grow up with more respect and appreciation for the police and the job they do.

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margie says...
10:06am Tue 6 Nov 12

Saved? They should have been arrested for causing a danger to other road users. And where exactly were they picked up anyway - between Darlington and Scotch Corner there IS a section of motorway! Its not possible to travel on that stretch of road without being on a motorway!

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Jimmyjack says...
11:31am Tue 6 Nov 12

I am not too sure that at that age I would have been aware of the difference between a dual carriageway and motorway. Well done to the police for some good old fashioned community policing. No one hurt and no harm done. Perhaps more worrying is Northern Echo's inability to spell 'scarey' correctly. There is no e in scary ;)

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Daza says...
11:53am Tue 6 Nov 12

The things people will do to get Free lifts!

What a trio of idiots! Don't think I would be smiling for the cameras if that was me like.!

Echo still scraping the barrell for stories again I see!

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ianh says...
12:03pm Tue 6 Nov 12

Yup, 3 daft lads, but who didnt do the odd daft thing at their age?

As for Margies suggestion of arresting this unfortunate trio, what possible good would that have done?
The only end result would be yet more alienated youth with an unhealthy disrespect for the police.

In this situation, three kids were kept safe, no doubt with a better understanding of road safety issues together with a positive outlook on the role of the Police.
Everyones a winner..............
..

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Duke of Aycliffe says...
1:31pm Tue 6 Nov 12

I think people are being a little hard on these lads, they were off to use a BMX park not be a nuisance & damage people's property, like some of the junior chav scum that infest Newton Aycliffe.
I think they've learnt their lesson & nobody was hurt. We were all young & foolish once.

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my views arent always right but who says your are says...
5:04pm Tue 6 Nov 12

fair enough as young adults you do make mistakes. But how were they going to get home the police certainly at the time would not of known they would get a lift. so quite possibly would of had to make there way home the same way. i believe bmx riders cause as much a nuisance and damage at times you just need to go to darlington town centre on a night to witness bmx problems

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margie says...
6:39pm Tue 6 Nov 12

Arrest them and scare the living daylights out of them, before taking them home rather than reward them for their stupidity by taking them to the park. I certainly didnt mean for them to be charged with anything. Simply given a good talking to. As for them not knowing the difference between a dual carriageway and motorway ......everyone riding their bike on any road should be fully aware of the rules of the road, and the responsibility they have to other road users. That particular stretch of road can be very dangerous. Speed limit of 70 frequently exceeded. HGV's thundering along. Sometimes it can be scary to drive along, never mind ride. Yes, they now have a positive opinion of the police,which is always a good thing, but I worry that they now think what they did was perfectly acceptable, rather than incredibly dangerous - to them and to others.

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johnny_p says...
6:39pm Wed 7 Nov 12

But you are allowed to cycle on the A1. I wouldn't cycle on it, but in any case a bit of a non-story. Still, glad to see the Police doing anything other than catch real criminals.

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doonhamer says...
11:25am Thu 8 Nov 12

Duke of Aycliffe wrote:
I think people are being a little hard on these lads, they were off to use a BMX park not be a nuisance & damage people's property, like some of the junior chav scum that infest Newton Aycliffe.
I think they've learnt their lesson & nobody was hurt. We were all young & foolish once.
The foolish bit has obviously stayed with you mate. If an accident had been caused you could guarantee that these three would have escaped without injury and some poor soul, swerving to avoid them, could have died in a head on smash. And YOU think they weren't being a nuisance ?. When you grow up you may appreciate that taking a hard line educates our kids far better than the namby, pamby attitude of the "do gooders" in our current society. Also, if they are 'decent' lads, as quoted elsewhere, what happened to their parental control, non existent I would assume. On a lighter note, they must have decent phones though, put Richmond into most and you get directions to South West London.

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Robert_ says...
6:55pm Sun 11 Nov 12

"Daredevil friends, Frankie Atkinson, Callum Buckton and Callum Waggett"

= morons

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johnny_p says...
12:30pm Mon 12 Nov 12

Robert_ wrote:
"Daredevil friends, Frankie Atkinson, Callum Buckton and Callum Waggett"

= morons
That's brave Robert. calling people you don't know "morons". They look like a good bunch of lads actually to me. And glad to see they were out and about doing things instead of festering in their bedrooms.

And as I mentioned before- it's not illegal to cycle on the A1. In fact the A1 was there long before the car was even thought about. Only in Britain do cyclists have to give way to cars- in the rest of Europe it's the other way round.

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