CAR enthusiast Sara Jeapes says she has been victimised by the new dispersal order launched in Swindon town centre labelling her a boy racer.

Car club founder Sara Jeapes, of Top Secret Cruising, says she is sick and tired of being tarred with the same brush as irresponsible and anti-social drivers.

On Friday the Adver reported that police had issued a dispersal order covering the whole of the town centre in a bid to combat rough sleepers, motoring menaces and pushy salesmen.

It is the first time in Swindon a neighbourhood policing team has been given such an order for their whole patch and means they have the power to move on groups of more than two people who are causing harassment, alarm or distress. The town centre order is the 27th to be put in place in Swindon since they were introduced in 2004.

The first was brought in on March 1, 2004, in Stratton.

Under the order, the Wyvern Theatre car park, where Sara and her friends meet to discuss their cars, has now been locked after business hours.

But Sara, who also runs her club's website topsecretcruising.co.uk, says the club doesn't welcome irresponsible motorists.

She said: "This dispersal order is doing nothing more than putting cars onto the streets searching for somewhere else to socialise.

"I can understand that there are people that speed around and burn rubber but I am certainly not one of them and don't think I should suffer because of an idiot in a car. Surely being in one place the police would know we are there and behaviour would be easier to police'?"

The office worker says that she and her friends use their spare time to meet up and talk about their cars, not to upset local residents living nearby.

"It's not a bad hobby - bad for my wallet maybe - but I believe it stops some young people from getting into things like burglary and mugging and gives them a meaning and a life."

Sara also argues that her club's presence in the car park helps reassure some drivers.

She said: "We have seen some shady characters looking from car to car before, but the fact that we are there stops them from getting away with anything.

"If we see anything that looks dodgy, we are usually first to call the police. We have even had one resident thank us for sticking around because it means her car is under our watchful eyes - it's a shame not everyone feels the same."