A POPULAR nature reserve could be destroyed if motorbike menaces continue to churn up the land.

Stuart Hales, nature reserve manager for Avon Wildlife Trust said Brown's Folly, an area in Monkton Farleigh Woods, would be ruined if nothing was done to stop people riding motorbikes at the beauty spot.

"It's an absolute disaster for the wildlife and if it continues we are going to see some serious degradation in terms of wildlife interest," he said.

"It is a very important area of woodland and wildlife site. We had some sheep grazing in a little field and had people on motorbikes chasing the sheep. We are pretty sick of it.

"The motorbikes are causing disturbance to the animals and churning up the land. People are turning up from a distance in vans and unloading their motorbikes. It's getting known as a hotspot.

"The local landowners say they have not given permission for people to use motorbikes on the land." Sgt Mark Rees, of Bradford on Avon police, said Mr Hales and local residents had contacted him about the problem and police had visited the site last week to try and catch the culprits, without success.

He said: "The local residents have been up in arms about the motorbikes, which have been causing a lot of damage. It is not just local people but some come from far and wide.

"We are trying to support the residents and landowners by targeting these motorcyclists.

"We can seize vehicles if we believe they are being used antisocially. In the first instance we give them a written warning and if they are foolish enough to do it again then the vehicle can be seized and it will cost them in excess of £100 to get it back."

He warned that police would not be afraid to seize vehicles from offenders and added that last weekend police had seized a car doing wheel spins in a car park in Bradford.