This is why police had a helicopter and a stinger out in Layton, Blackpool

Police have confirmed why they had deployed officers and a helicopter around Layton on Sunday evening.

Residents had been questioning why police and a helicopter had swarmed the area. Youths on quad bikes had been causing the chaos in Blackpool town centre which led to an arrest and a bike being seized by police outside the Victory Pub on Caunce Street at approx 9pm.

This followed a police helicopter chase.

A witness told the Gazette that the riders had almost caused a number of accidents while they were riding dangerously around the streets, including on the tram tracks, on Sunday afternoon.

READ MORE: Lancashire Police referred to Independent Office for Police Conduct after crash in Condor Grove, Blackpool

Sign up for our free newsletters nowVideo footage shows the youths driving along the tram tracks, dangerously cutting in front of people and moments later racing along Dickson Road. An arrest was made following a police helicopter chase later in the evening, which resulted in an e-bike being seized. A spokesperson for Blackpool Police said: "We know that a lot of you will have been frustrated by e-bikes being ridden anti-socially in the centre of Blackpool.

"This evening we have witnessed young men on these bikes going through red lights, riding on the wrong side of the road and being generally abusive.

"To counteract this, we deployed a number of officers in the area and also had the police helicopter overhead gathering vital intelligence.

"As a result of deploying a stinger, we managed to arrest a 23-year-old man from Blackpool on suspicion of dangerous driver.

"He remains in custody at this time.

"We will continue to proactively target individuals who put the lives of others at risk by behaving in such a dangerous and reckless way."

They added that they would review the evidence gathered to look at making further arrests.