Bradford rappers landed in court over music video filmed near polling station on election day
Some voters complained about being intimidated by crowds which had gathered to appear in the video
A RAP video about life on the West Royd Estate, filmed yards from a polling station on election day, has landed two men in court.
WRM (Rippin It Up) by Kal & Deakin was filmed on and around West Royd Drive in the Windhill area on May 2 – the day people across the Bradford District went to the polls.
The nearest polling station was just a short distance from where scenes involving multiple people in balaclavas and riding quad and off-road bikes was filmed.
The filming led to complaints from some voters who said they felt intimidated by the unexpected scene when heading to the ballot box.
But the pair behind the music video, which has been viewed online over 61,000 times, have told a court they had good intentions, and had no idea the day of filming coincided with the local elections.
On Thursday Jake Deakin (26) of West Royd Terrace and Kalum Hussain Williamson (27) of West Royd Drive appeared at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court, pleading guilty to failing to comply with a public space protection order.
The charge said the men “organised a meeting of vehicles in the vicinity that caused excessive noise, danger, risk of damage and disrupted pedestrian and vehicular traffic to and from an election polling booth on election day.”
But Magistrates were told the pair intended to divert children in the estate away from crime, not cause trouble for voters.
The rap song details the ups and downs of life on an estate blighted by crime, and one line by Williamson says: “Coming from Royd it’s hard to survive.”
The video features several motorbike stunts and scenes involving cars and off-road vehicles.
One aerial shot even shows the crowd of people filming the video and the polling station in the same image.
Mr Rice, prosecuting the case on behalf of Bradford Council, said: “On April 29 police became aware of a social media post that a video was going to be recorded in the West Royd estate in Shipley.
“On May 2 it was the local and Mayoral elections, and police received complaints from election officials of anti-social use of motorbikes and quads near West Royd Crescent.
“Officers later found evidence the ground had been damaged, and it appeared a vehicle had been doing donuts.
“They began investigating on social media and found registration plates shown on photos of the event. There is footage of a car doing a burnout and vehicles driving at speed around the area.
“There are quite a lot of children present, sitting on quads and motorbikes with balaclavas and face coverings as well as riding unregistered vehicles.
“Police described the movements of the vehicles as dangerous.
“I believe they were filming a rap video, although I’m not up to date on music trends.”
He said the defendants were soon identified as organisers of the video shoot – as they had posted on social media before and after the shoot.
Mr Rice added: “It caused disruption to local people. The presiding officer at the local polling station received a number of complaints from locals. People wanting to vote in the local election found it difficult to get to the polling station.
“One couple said they arrived, saw what was happening and turned round to go back home.”
He acknowledged there was no evidence that the pair intended to disrupt the election that day.
Erica Topham, defending Williamson, said: “My client was trying to do good within that area.
“Police were aware of this filming prior to the event taking place and did nothing.
“These two lads decided to make a music video, and when the youngsters from the estate found out about what was going on they all wanted to get involved.
“They had no idea whatsoever there was an election taking place that day.
“When the children came knocking at their door they thought it was an opportunity to give the children of the estate something to do other than crime. They thought it would be a really good idea to let children be part of this event. They wanted to do good for the community, but in this instance it has gone wrong.”
She said the pair asked neighbours for permission to carry out the filming, adding: “They all said it was a fabulous idea.
“The fact they put the video on social media shows they didn’t think they had done anything wrong.”
Mr Zulfikar, representing Deakin, said: “He posted the next day that he would go to clean up the roads after the filming. The intention wasn’t to behave in an anti-social manner.”
Magistrates fined the pair £120 each, and they will also have to pay a £48 surcharge and £200 costs to Bradford Council.