Police issue three community protection warnings against motorbike photographers on Fish Hill road

Three motorcycling photographers, who take pictures of passing bikes on the A44 at Fish Hill, have been served with Community Protection Notice Warnings (CPNW) by local police in a bid to remove them from the area.

The notices have come from Evesham Safer Neighbourhood Team (SNT), who publicly confirmed the decision on Friday, May 9, stating that photographers advertising their presence encourages ‘hundreds’ of riders to visit the area to get a picture.

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“We are taking action to clamp down on these photographers whose presence is in turn encouraging a large number of bikers to turn up at Fish Hill, especially on sunny days,” Safer Neighbourhood Inspector for Wychavon Dave Wise said.

“They are advertising their attendance on local social media pages, stating they will be there to take pictures of the bikers racing up the hill.

“These adverts can attract hundreds of bikers to Fish Hill in just one day,” the Inspector continued. “The associated noise heard throughout the village with the sound of racing bikes can make it unbearable for local residents.”

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The decision has been met with heavy criticism online, with an official Facebook post attracting almost 500 comments in a week. MCN approached West Mercia Police to talk about the move further, however they declined to comment – adding only that regular road safety operations will continue in the area in the future.

“A lot of the time you’re up there, the police are up there as well, and you speak to them and they’re completely fine with you,” 18-year-old Ben Webster, told MCN.

The Cheltenham rider is one of the three photographers impacted and quit his full-time job in January to set up his business Benjshootsvisuals. The images he takes can be purchased online at a later date.

“I’ve never had a bad conversation with a police officer, or an officer tell me I can’t do what I’m doing,” he explained. “The letter came on Thursday, with no prior conversation with the police before it.”

According to the police, the photographers’ actions have led to an increase in noise pollution in the Broadway area, as well as a distraction to road users. They also state that between January 2020 and the end of April 2025, there were 13 collisions on Fish Hill – including eight serious and five slight injuries.

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“I am fully insured for roadside photography, and track photography, and what I am doing is not illegal,” Jake Pickering, 40, from Coventry added. “You’re kicking me off the hill [for] photographing the public, in a public place.”

Like Ben, Jake sells images online and believes he has done nothing wrong.

“Every time there’s been a photographer on the hill and there’s been an accident with a biker, the bikers have all claimed they knew nothing about us being there,” he added.

“The police and ambulances are also called within a minute, so us being on that hill guarantees someone’s going to stop and help.”

MCN spoke with Managing Partner at White Dalton Motorcycle Solicitors, Gavin Grewal, who sides with the photographers.

“They could ignore the warning, and then the police might issue a Community Protection Notice, but the photographers could have a potential escape route, which is to appeal against it.

“The legislation sets out five grounds of appeal,” Grewal continued. “And there’s a causation point, because are bikes turning up because of advertising, or are bikes turning up anyway?

“It’s a nice bright Saturday, so guess what’s going to happen, bikes are going to come out. The mere fact that they’ve put out an advert is neither here nor there, because police can’t prove everyone’s turned up because of their advert.”

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He added: “The police are trying to turn a perfectly legal activity of photography in the public space, into an illegal act. That is the problem with CPNs and the photographers may have an Article 10 Human Rights Act argument against it, as well as an appeal route under the act itself.

“If, however, they lose – and the police turn up with 30 witness statements from round the corner – and the court finds that their conduct is unreasonable, they’re looking at a level four fine, which in plain English is a means tested fine of up to £2500.”