A MULTI-MILLION-POUND new road could be redesigned to help stop a gang of young bikers terrorising the people of Canvey.

The £18.5million Roscommon Way extension was opened in January in a bid to ease traffic and help Charfleets Industrial Estate on Canvey expand.

However, yobs have been using the road as a racetrack since September, causing misery for residents by revving their engines, honking their horns and causing damage to the road in the early hours.

Now Essex Police has revealed plans could be in the pipeline for alterations to be made to the road in a bid to put an end to the problem.

An Essex Police spokesperson said: “Our policing operations to combat anti-social bikers on Roscommon Way appear to have only fixed the problem short term. We are looking into a more robust way of combating the problem in the long term.

“We are continuing to liaise with the highways authority in a bid to alter the road layout to prevent such dangerous riding.”

The plans could include introducing traffic calming measures such as speed humps or chicanes to force motorists to slow down.

This comes after news the problem has been getting worse as residents have reported bikers racing down streets right across the island.

County councillor Ray Howard, who has been inundated with concerns, said: “The noise from these bikers is unbelievable. They just do circuits round Roscommon Way and Northwick Road, waking people up in the early hours which is just not acceptable.

“Now I’m getting complaints from people right across Canvey, saying they are now using the one-way system in the town which is such a shame as the roads round there have only been recently refurbished. It’s getting worse and something needs to be done.”

The Police spokesperson added: “We are continuing to provide both high visibility and covert patrols as we look to eradicate the problem and prosecute the individuals who are causing the nuisance.”