A police car’s tyres were slashed during a 100-person strong car meet which saw “dangerous manoeuvres” and “anti-social behaviour.”

Around 100 motorists gathered at the Porte Marsh Industrial Estate in Calne at around 8.40pm on Monday, August 28.

Police from the Calne and Chippenham Neighbourhood Teams arrived on the scene after reports of dangerous driving, but were soon the victim of an incident which caused “significant damage” to one of their vehicles.

Inspector Pete Foster said: “Whilst we do not wish to prevent people from meeting up with like-minded friends and enthusiasts, the sort of behaviour which took place on Monday night was unacceptable.

“One of our police vehicles had its tyres slashed during the incident and there were a number of dangerous manoeuvres and incidents of anti-social behaviour witnessed.

“Our officers are here to keep the public safe and we rely on our vehicles to respond quickly and efficiently to emergency situations and sadly, this mindless behaviour has left us short of a response vehicle to carry out our role.”

Swindon Advertiser: A car seized following a meet for having no taxA car seized following a meet for having no tax (Image: Wiltshire Police)

The gathering was quickly dispersed within an hour of police arriving and no serious collisions took place.

But Insp Foster added that the driving manoeuvres on display were “dangerous.”

He said: The driving behaviours of those involved were completely unacceptable and we will be continuing with our enquiries to identify those involved in causing damage to one of our vehicles which has taken it off the roads for urgent repair work.”

Officers are now conducting CCTV enquiries in an effort to locate any offenders following the meet.

PCSO Mark Cook, of the Calne Neighbourhood Policing Team, added: “Vehicle-related anti-social behaviour will not be tolerated in Calne and we would urge anyone who witnesses such behaviour to contact us via 101 or 999 in an emergency.”

Police also reported that a driver visiting a Wiltshire car meet from Gloucester had their car seized on Monday night after it was discovered to be untaxed.

Car meets have been an area of focus for officers this summer, with a Chippenham pensioner claiming earlier this month that the noise from one of the events was “horrendous.”

He claimed that cars could be seen “stampeding” up and down the A4 near the B&Q in Bath Road, before a larger gathering was held on Great Western Way in Swindon that night.

Police pledged to crack down on anti-social behaviour at similar events in July, and carried out a week of high visibility patrols.