Around 400 vehicles were dispersed from a car meet at Cheddar Gorge after motorists were caught performing doughnuts and drifting while pedestrians and cyclists tried to use the road.

The local police beat team monitored the gathering at the beauty spot on Sunday.

Officers later shut the road due to acts of dangerous driving at around 8.45pm, and motorists were ordered to leave.

The area was vacated within around 30 minutes, and around 80-100 vehicles were later reported to have arrived at Sainsbury’s car park in Worle.

Police received reports of loud music being played and officers helped bring the incident to a close.

Avon and Somerset Constabulary said eight vehicles were stopped, one drug search was conducted, two drivers were handed fixed penalty notices for breach of vehicle regulations.

One driver was caught without valid insurance, two motorists were directed to leave due to antisocial behaviour and police also supported the ambulance service with two unrelated medical incidents.

Inspector Andy Pritchard said he will not let public roads be ‘treated as a race track’ and the constabulary will be deploying officers to the area this weekend as well.

He said: “Extra resources were deployed to the gorge over the weekend because of concerns regarding a planned car meet on Sunday.

“We will not tolerate the dangerous driving that people were subjected to in Cheddar or Weston, and we will not allow public roads to be treated as a race track. Our priority is, first and foremost, to ensure the public’s safety and therefore the gorge closed as a last resort.

“We apologise for anyone inconvenienced, but hope they can appreciate why it was necessary.

“Officers on the scene were equipped with body-worn cameras and we will be reviewing that footage, identifying those drivers and taking action against those responsible for putting innocent people in jeopardy. Car meets in the gorge are not safe and we will be deploying officers in the area again this weekend.”

People who witness antisocial driving in the gorge can report it on 101 and footage can also be uploaded at www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/report