August 2000: Police blocked off car parks and put extra patrols on duty in a bid to prevent hundreds of boy racers descending on the area for a car cruise publicised on the web. Car parks at Macro, Freeport, Asda and Festival Park were blocked off in an attempt to stop the cruise taking place in either Newcastle or Stoke-on-Trent.

July 2002: Police launched Operation Exile in an effort to tackle increasing number of boy racers on Festival Park, working with managers at KFC, Esporta fitness club and McDonald's.

September 2003: Speed humps were installed in Ridgehouse Drive to stop boy racers speeding round the site. Plans were also revealed for humps in Pavilion Drive.

May 2004: Police carried out a major crackdown on boy racers, with three operations in three weeks. Drivers were caught behind the wheel without licences, road tax, MOTs and insurance, while others were fined for illegal modifications made to their cars.

January 2005: Families driven to despair by car cruisers held a meeting at Burslem Cricket Club and told Inspector Bill James, then commander of the city centre policing unit, that they were not satisfied with the police response. He apologised.

January 2007: More than 50 cars and vans were stopped as part of another police crackdown. Fixed penalty notices were issued to 14 drivers for various driving offences and dozens of drivers were given seven days to produce driving documents to the police.

May 2008: Police launched Operation Expedite at Festival Park, concentrating patrols on Etruria car parks between 8pm and 11pm every day throughout May. It resulted in 60 fixed penalty fines, and four motorists having their cars seized for being twice caught driving in an anti-social manner.

August 2008: The Sentinel revealed police and Stoke-on-Trent City Council were planning to apply for an injunction to ban boy racers from Festival Park. WaterWorld and the Moat House Hotel described the problems cruisers were causing. Port Vale Football Club stepped in to offer car enthusiasts a place to meet, but the plans were scrapped after an outcry from residents.

October 2008: The city council decided to apply for a city-wide injunction.

March 2009: Ryan Cole, aged 21, and 22-year-old Simon Connor were banned from driving by magistrates after being caught racing along Festival Way.

July 2009: The city council joined forces with Warwickshire County Council, in the belief that simultaneous applications were more likely to be accepted by the High Court.

August 2009: The High Court granted an injunction banning car cruising on Festival Park.