Watch: ‘Wannabe boy racers’ perform doughnuts 900 metres from Buckingham Palace

People gather to watch boyracers
People gather to watch boyracers

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“Wannabe boy racers” were caught performing doughnuts in high-powered sports cars near Buckingham Palace.

Four drivers have been issued with fixed penalty notices after being caught on camera performing burnouts and revving their engines at a late-night car meet off Pall Mall.

Some of the cars included a highly-tuned BMW coupe, and a Mercedes C63 AMG worth almost £100,000, Westminster City council said.

CCTV footage shows a large crowd filming a car on their phones while it does doughnuts in “dangerous proximity”.

Other drivers were caught blocking roads and revving their engines close to residential areas, producing noise at around 90 decibels – as loud as standing next to a passing London Underground train.

‘Zero tolerance for anti-social driving’

The drivers were caught after they triggered acoustic noise cameras.

The cameras, installed in 2021, are activated when they detect events over 80 to 90 decibels and then use AI to differentiate an engine’s sound from a typical car horn by monitoring sound patterns.

The microphone height is typically five metres above ground, and the camera is designed to pick up high noise events that take place at any distance up to approximately 10 to 15 metres.

Councillor Aicha Less, the Westminster City council deputy leader and cabinet member for children and public protection, said: “Driving like this is not only unwelcome in Westminster, but also incredibly dangerous.

“We often notice an increase of this behaviour during the summer, but we will continue to work throughout the year to deter this from happening. We have zero tolerance for anti-social driving, so I welcome the latest round of fines and hope that, by working with our partners, we can identify others.

“If you are looking to meet up with cars like this, our streets are not the place for it.”