BOBBIES in Rowley Regis are using golf buggies in a bid to mark the cards of local yobs causing trouble on a local course.

Members of the Rowley Neighbourhood Policing Team have been trained to use the buggies at Dudley Golf Club after a series of anti-social behaviour incidents on the course.

The buggies, which have a top speed of 20mph, help the police chase people illegally driving off-road vehicles on the fairways and greens of the Turners Hill course.

Sergeant Joel Morgan, from the Rowley Neighbourhood Team, said: “Following a number of criminal damage and anti-social behaviour offences at Tividale Golf Course, the neighbourhood team has taken a pro-active approach to apprehend those responsible.”

He added: “Through close partnership working with the golf club owners, we have been trained to use a golf buggy - enabling us to access areas of the golf course in a speedier fashion.”

“We have also increased high-visibility patrols using the buggy, and have subsequently been able to identify a number of off-road vehicles tresspassing on the course.”

The new police strategy has already had an effect reducing anti-social behaviour on the golf course.

Sgt Morgan added: “One vehicle has since been successfully seized, and this has deterred many other vehicles from tresspassing in the area.”

Assistant Secretary of Dudely Golf Club Brian Clee confirmed the buggy driving Bobbies have helped cut down anti-social behaviour.

He said: “We’ve had them about 12 months and we thought it would be good for the police to use them outside of peak hours when most of the trouble was occurring.

“There has been a definite reduction in anti-social behaviour since the police started using the buggies because they can get around the course so much faster than before.

“We still have the occasional problem, last week someone drove over one of our greens, stole some flags and set fire to some shrubbery, but on the whole the anti-social behaviour has been reduced.”