A farmer has spoken of the ‘mess and devastation’ caused by off road motorbikes on private land.

It comes after Rossendale Police said they had seized motorbikes this week which were ridden on the public highway in Helmshore.

Police said the bikes were not from the Rossendale area and appear to have been ridden a considerable distance before being stopped. Both bikes have been seized and the riders summonsed for numerous traffic offences.

Police revealed bikes of this nature are not road legal, have no licence plates, headlights or indicators and the riders did not hold driving licences or any relevant insurance.

A Rossendale farmer shared her account of the damage being done to land. She wrote, "I write this quite first-hand as the daughter of a hill farmer in the Rossendale Valley. We farm an upland flock of predominantly Swaledale ewes with a smaller flock of Lonks, Cheviots and a few Texel sheep.

“My family have farmed the same farm and moorland for generations and it is now facing hugely unprecedented times and is under a threat of no longer being home to grazing livestock at all.

“The biggest issue our uplands face is it is treated as a playground for grown men to travel to, along with their motocross bikes, 4x4’s and friends.

“They spend their days and evenings shredding our poor moorland to pieces. This problem has grown in popularity over the last 10 or so years and the increase in mainly adult men using our moorland to exercise their motocross bikes has now reached an overwhelming statistic.

“Groups of up to 20 bikes have been sighted and photographed. The mess and devastation they are creating is totally beyond belief.

“It is actually illegal to use these moorlands for these purposes and the landowners and graziers have been plagued with this activity 365 days a year, the riders of bikes and drivers of 4x4’s have no permission to be there in the first place.”

The farmer said the moorland is home to several species of birds including Twite, Curlews, Lapwings and birds of prey such as Buzzards and Kestrels.

She added: “I have lambs only hours old separated from their mothers and completely lost- orphaned. Only the lucky lambs who are heard crying for their mothers are found, yet again by their shepherd or a kind rambler. The unlucky ones look death in the eye as the cold causes hypothermia and their body shuts down.

“Other farmers on our moorland have had their cattle ‘rounded up’ in a game by the bikers. One particular calf, only days old ended up with a broken leg. But after much treatment and encouragement it healed and the calf grew. Again, even with a positive ending, this shouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

“Contrary to popular belief these hills are not 'wasteland' which no one owns nor cares for. They are home to some of the most environmentally friendly beef and lamb for generations, reared on land which cannot support any other kind of agriculture or serve any other

productive purpose.”