DRIVERS who brought misery to Greenock town centre residents by screeching their cars around the rooftop car park at Tesco late at night have been hit with anti-social behaviour warnings.

The teenagers have been warned that if they are caught revving and racing their vehicles again then the cars will be confiscated from them and impounded.

Householders at Westburn Buildings, directly across the road from the supermarket, had been repeatedly kept awake at night by the noise of backfiring exhausts and screeching tyres.

Now two 17-year-olds — a male and a female — have been given vehicle ASBO warnings by police after they were captured on CCTV 'performing stunts' at the open air car park.

Sergeant Danny Godfrey, of Greenock police, said: "Two suspects were identified after the footage was viewed.

"They were on the upper car park at Tesco and their presence coincided with a lot of noise nuisance.

"Both teenagers have been served with warnings under section 127 of the Antisocial Behaviour (Scotland Act) 2004."

Under that legislation police have separate powers to seize vehicles where they are being used as part of a pattern of anti-social behaviour.

The two teenagers have also been reported to the procurator fiscal for alleged careless driving offences.

Sergeant Godfrey said: "Local people have been at their wits end and we have to be very robust in our actions.

"The teenagers have been warned that their vehicles could be confiscated and they would need to pay hundreds of pounds to get them back.

"A third driver was with them but he was seen to drive carefully and park up properly within the car park.

"The other two were performing stunts with their tyres screeching."

The incident occurred between 11pm and midnight on August 24.

Chief Inspector Paul Cameron said: "We have had a number of reports of anti-social driving and related noise complaints throughout Inverclyde in recent months.

"Speeding, backfiring exhausts and excessive revving of engines cause a huge amount of anxiety and disturbance to many residents.

"Whilst I'm sure that most drivers are unaware of the distress they cause, we will continue to take action through education and enforcement.

"I know that for many drivers, their car is their pride and joy so please take care on the roads, be considerate of your surroundings and don't risk having your car seized by the police through anti-social driving."