CAR enthusiasts deny speeding around a Worcester estate despite the accusations from residents who have labelled them “boy-racers”.

Tim Hill and Bethany-Mae Jones are both amongst a group of friends who regularly meet up in Tesco car park on Mill Wood Drive but claim they don’t race around Warndon Villages.

Resident Andy Graham has set up a petition which he plans to present to police and Tesco in an attempt to stop the meetings and alleged illegal racing.

The 57-year-old, who lives on the junction between Mill Wood Drive and Plantation Drive, said he is often woken up in the early hours by revving engines and screeching tyres.

Neighbours have also reported to him seeing cars driving at speeds of 60 or 70mph on the estate’s roads, he claims.

However, Tim and Bethany-Mae say this is not the case, with the latter adamant the group’s activities are “harmless”.

Tim, 22, who lives in Topham Avenue, Warndon Villages, said there’s usually around 10 people at the meetings but he doesn’t know of any of them breaking the speed limit let alone racing.

“Yes, we sometimes have left the engine on idle for the heaters, but I work a full-time job to earn my car," he wrote on Facebook. "I’ve never touched a drop of alcohol in my life nor drugs, but my car is the only thing that I look back and I say I work hard for that.”

Speaking to the Worcester News, he said he’s never seen any members “driving around at stupid speeds” as their cars are their “pride and joy”.

“We don’t want to do anything that could end up with us having them taken off us,” he added.

Tim said most of the members work in the car industry and meet up from around 7pm but go home by 11pm on weekdays and stay until around 1am on weekends.

He added that the group generally meets at Tesco or McDonald’s in Blackpole.

Bethany-Mae, 23 and from Droitwich, said: “It’s just a group of friends who meet up in the car park. “We have been sat there and police have been called on us and they’ve spoken to us and seen we’re not doing anything.”

She said there used to be monthly meetings in The Hive car park, organised by group Anything Goes – which had council permission but was stopped due to complaints.

Bethany-Mae owns a Mini Cooper S which cost £2,500 and which she spent a further £1,000 on cosmetic modifications, including changing the colour of the roof rack.

She said they stick to the back of the car park, however, she claims stones and eggs have been thrown at members’ cars before.

Councillor Andrew Cross, of Warndon Parish Council, said police have told him due to a lack of reports about noise and speeding since October, therefore officers are not prioritising the situation.

In a post on Facebook on Thursday, he said the Warndon Safer Neighbourhood Team have had “hardly any calls since October about noise from speeding vehicles”.

“Either there’s a glitch in the system or us locals simply aren’t calling 101 when we hear a problem.

“The lack of logged calls means that, in police prioritising methods, there is no problem that needs extra resources or additional measures,” he added.

West Mercia Police were unavailable to confirm this.