A BAN on boy racers at a Colchester retail park has come into force.

Under newpowers, set to be used for the first time in the country, Colchester Council has made car parks at Turner Rise Retail Park the subject of a new kind of antisocial behaviour order.

It follows repeated visits last year by as many as 500 car cruisers, who upset neighbours by revving engines, playing loud music and burning rubber.

The new public spaces protection order, a form of Asbo, applies between 6pm and 6am and gives police the power to ban motorists from car parks unless the driver or passengers are shopping, or using restaurants Legitimate customers there during the hours the ban is in force will be given just 20 minutes to leave after they finish eating or shopping.

The order also bans burger vans from selling food without permission.

Anyone breaching the order risks a fine of £100, or prosecutions will be taken to court against individuals or groups of offenders creating excessive noise .

The order, which will last for a year, became available under a law that has only been in force since October.

Tina Bourne, Colchester Council’s portfolio holder for housing and public protection said: “The council has taken these measures to give us powers of enforcement on private land.

"Residents have endured the effects of evening car engine and amplified music noises and I am glad that, together with our police partners, we have signalled our intended response to such antisocial behaviour."