and bottles early yesterday.

The motorcycle officers came up against a group of 100 youths with bikes near the Candy Kitchen on Pond Hill, Pembroke, said Police spokesman Sgt. John Dale.

He said the incident started around 4.30 a.m.. "The Policemen went to impound two bikes for various offences and the crowd didn't take kindly to it.'' The youths began to disperse but 20 to 30 stayed, bombarding the Policemen with rocks and bottles. A Police truck which arrived on the scene was damaged.

Eventually, said Sgt. Dale, the situation was brought under control. There were no arrests and no-one was hurt, he said. Two bikes were impounded.

There were 245 reported accidents on the Island's roads last month, most of them caused by inexperience, say Police.

The number of accidents was up 20 on the June total and down 36 on July last year.

A total of 159 people were hurt, compared to 126 in June. The total included 84 locals and 75 visitors, and 19 of those hurt were seriously injured.

People aged 21 to 30 formed the biggest proportion of drivers.

A boater was among 19 people arrested for drunk-driving last month. Eleven of them failed a Police alco-analyser test, four passed and two refused to be tested. The total compares to 21 in June and 30 last July.

All but two of the drivers were men. The oldest person was 49 and the youngest 16. Saturday was the commonest day of arrest, and the most common time was between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m.

Apart from the boater, eight car-drivers, one trucker and nine bike-riders were arrested.