Custom-car cruisers have claimed they should be given their own venue to hold mass rallies.

More than 1,000 cars were cleared from Basildon's Mayflower retail park by police after an impromptu rally spiralled out of control.

Word of the rally spread within hours, with 2,500 car fanatics from across Essex and London converging on the area by midnight.

Cruisers, who spent Saturday night showing off their cars and carrying out stunts, today hit back at police claims the rally was unsafe.

They called on local authorities and police to help set up a venue where they can cruise in peace.

Karl, 33, of Fraser Close, Southend, who did not want to give his surname, said: "If they could find a big enough piece of ground where we could have our bit of fun regularly, that would be great.

"We would rather do it in a controlled area where we can race our cars off the ground."

Cruisers can spend thousands of pounds decorating their cars.

News of the rallies spread by word of mouth and attract thousands of enthusiasts.

But the wild stunts they perform, including burn-ups, handbreak turns and figure-of-eight manoeuvres have been attacked by police as dangerous.

Seafront cruisers have also incurred the wrath of Southend Council.

Karl, who is an HGV driver by day, said: "The police said when they came the rally was unsafe but that's not true.

"Somebody turned over their car but that was because he was inexperienced. It's perfectly safe. If we could not control our cars we would not do it."

He added: "It's somewhere where you can meet all your friends and have a bit of a laugh which we cannot do on the main roads. I videoed Saturday's rally and it was great fun.

"But we always make sure the cars are safe before going back on the road."

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