A large group of dirt bike riders seen riding around the streets of south Auckland during lockdown has sparked local residents’ concern.

Locals said the bikers have been riding in groups down Great South Rd, Papatoetoe, almost every day since New Zealand entered level 4 lockdown on August 18.

CCTV video from a house along Great South Rd showed a group of about 17 riders zooming past doing wheelstands. Some among the group were not wearing masks or helmets.

Michael Dawson, who owns a motel serving essential workers in the area, said he is concerned for the safety of the riders and their families.

Dawson said he is more concerned given that he believes the riders come from communities that are especially vulnerable to the impacts of Covid-19.

Dawson said the group – whom he believes are not local – have been riding unsafely in the area for more than three years, but what used to be a weekend routine is now happening every day during the lockdown.

He said he is “frustrated” that despite reporting the breach to the police multiple times, nothing has been done about it.

Another local, David Yang, said he had made eight reports to the police since he started seeing the bikers almost every evening since the lockdown began, but has not seen police come to investigate.

Yang said they sometimes come in groups of four to eight, but reckoned he counted 21 racers at its peak this past Sunday.

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“They’re not wearing helmets and doing stunts in the middle of the road, and affecting the traffic”

“I don’t understand why these people can [see themselves as] free from the law?” said Yang.

A police spokesman said they’ve received two reports in relation to dirt bike riding in Manukau on Sunday, but said the mobility of the bikers makes it challenging for police to attend at the time.

He said officers also have to prioritise jobs where there is a serious risk.

Meanwhile, police have arrested a man in the central city who was allegedly breaching bail and driving while disqualified in a car containing a baseball bat and drug paraphernalia.

A spokesman said police received a report of a suspicious vehicle in Federal St just after 8am on Tuesday.

The man – also slapped with an infringement notice for breaching lockdown level 4 restrictions – was expected to appear in the Auckland District Court on Tuesday.

As of August 24, police had also received 7099 online breach notifications – 4280 of these were about a gathering, 2162 were about a business, and 657 were about an individual.

Police said they are maintaining a policy of high visibility during the lockdown restrictions and are conducting thousands of patrols nationwide.

To date, police have received 1394 complaints regarding perceived Covid-19 breaches.

As of 5pm on Monday, 507 infringements for Covid-related breaches had been issued across the country.