HUNDREDS of car enthusiasts gathered on a city centre car park while others took part in street racing along the A4440 during a police crackdown on boy racers.

Cattle Market car park was swamped by around 300 "boy racers" attending an ad hoc meet in the city and at other popular spots across Worcestershire and Herefordshire on Sunday evening.

However, about 50 officers from Operation Overture, which aims to stamp out anti-social drivers, were on hand to carry out insurance checks on modified cars and speak to drivers.

Police said they dealt with cars which had bald tyres, modifications which were inappropriate, modified engines and failure to show licence plates.

There were no arrests and police will continue to check the drivers' insurance matched with the modifications they had made to their cars.

Sunday night's operation began in Kidderminster at about 7pm with car enthusiasts coming from as far afield as Coventry and Halesowen before it moved to Worcester.

Boy racers meet up in different areas before travelling in convoy to popular sites where they park up and admire each others' cars.

People living along the A4440 had also reported street racing involving around ten cars near the New College Worcester, Whittington Road.

Fifty people were reported to be stood near a roundabout near Newtown Road watching but when police arrived they did not witness any speeding.

Specialist examiners inspected the cars to see what kind of condition they were in.

Kevin Purcell, superintendent for north Worcestershire, said: "Over a period of time it came to our attention that certain areas across Herefordshire and Worcestershire were being used by, what we would call, boy racers who have modified their cars to the point where they weren't properly insured and some were dangerous.

"We have had reports of roads being blocked and racing taking place and the operation was a response to a number of issues particularly anti-social behaviour whether noise or how they used the road.

"The anti-social side to it can also be dangerous to other road users."

He said the response from the car enthusiasts was good natured and they were given leaflets and information about staying safe on the road.

"A lot of the officers involved like vehicles, they drive high-powered cars as part of their job, so this isn't a case of being anti-vehicle.

"It's about education and making sure they know the risks taken if they behave in a certain way.

"It was good humoured and good natured from them, they listened to the advice.

"They invest a lot of money into their vehicles and their cars are their lives - they don't do going out or drinking.

"It is very much a culture and a lifestyle they invest a lot of money in but they don't always tell their insurance companies about the modifications they have made.

"But there is no issue with the majority of their behaviour toward the police or they way they behave in their vehicles.

"However, some of them do need to modify their behaviour and we're clear it is better to educate now than deal with them when they or someone else has been killed in a road traffic collision."