Opposition councillors have called for the resignation of a cabinet member for failure to deal with anti-social behaviour and “gaslighting” the public.

Medway Tories say portfolio holder for community safety and enforcement, Cllr Tristan Osborne (Lab), has been ineffective at solving the problem of off-road bikes and nuisance vehicles on the Towns’ green spaces.

They say he should be replaced and cabinet members should stop misleading residents about action being taken.

In a statement they said residents were being driven from green spaces and made to feel unsafe because the council wasn’t effectively enforcing the public space protection order (PSPO) which came into effect in April.

They cited the Twitter account @BarnfieldBikes as highlighting the daily problem of people riding motorbikes and four-wheelers on public recreation grounds which has been an issue for some time.

The owner of the account has been photographing nuisance bikers since 2022, but says it has been an issue for the past 15 years.

However, the Medway Labour group argues it has made significant progress on the problem since it took control of the council last May by creating and passing the PSPO in October which fines drivers who break the rules £100 and could even confiscate their vehicles.

Cllr Osborne, speaking to the Local Democracy Reporting Service in April, said fixing the issue would be a long-term endeavour because it had been a problem for some time.

He also said offenders may be named and shamed in order to change the culture - however, critics have said this has been a hollow promise.

The Tories also accused cabinet members of making out the council was doing more to tackle the problem than it actually is.

Cllr Andrew Lawrence (Con), the shadow cabinet member for regeneration, community and housing, said: “The current situation at parks and green spaces such as the Barnfield recreational ground is another failure of the administration.

“Despite a lot of talk on this from members of the Cabinet, the problem remains unresolved.

“Medway Conservatives call on the administration to replace Cllr Osborne from the enforcement portfolio who has been ineffective in his post and address the issue of off-road bikes and anti-social behaviour in coordination with Kent Police.

“This is the time for action not words. This administration must stop gaslighting residents on social media.

“The PSPO is a council-led initiative and the council needs to properly support, that includes wardens working closely with Kent Police.

“Cllr Osborne must commit the correct level of resources wardens and permanent signage, etc.

“If the resources were not available he should have held off pushing the PSPO through council until such time the resources were available.”

In response, the Medway Labour said: “Crime and anti-social behaviour is on the rise across the whole country.

“It takes the police too long to visit after an incident, if they are able to visit at all, and convictions have plummeted.

“Those who commit these crimes do so thinking they can get away with it, and sadly most the time they are right.

“This is not the fault of Medway Council, or Kent Police, and everyone knows it.

“This is the result of 14 years of the Conservative Party hollowing out our criminal justice system.

“It is laughable the Medway Conservatives have the nerve to criticise the rapid work Medway Labour & Co-operative have made over the last year, with the limited resources left to us and the police by this tired Government.

“Fully turning the tide on crime requires a change of Government.

“Thankfully, people will have the opportunity to vote for change when Rishi Sunak stops dodging a general election.”