Conservative councillor Mieka Smiles says it's not burkas which are causing mayhem (Image: Getty)

       As a Conservative, I’m uncomfortable with banning anything. I’m a great believer in freedom of choice. As long as your choices aren’t harming anyone else, then I say live and let live. And recent debate around banning the burka in the UK, sparked by Reform UK’s newest MP, Sarah Pochin, who won the recent Runcorn and Helsby by-election, has proved what a controversial topic state-sanctioned restrictions on the way we dress can be.

       She asked Keir Starmer: “Given the Prime Minister’s desire to strengthen strategic alignment with our European neighbours, will he in the interests of public safety follow the lead of France, Denmark, Belgium and others and ban the burka?”

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       This intervention sparked controversy, not least within Reform, with party chairman Zia Yusuf branding it a “dumb” question, before being slapped down by Nigel Farage, quitting, and then returning in a lesser post.

       Now, I think the burka is an oppressive and, to be brutally frank, weird garment. Margaret Atwood famously said that the red bonnet costumes in her chilling and dystopian novel The Handmaid’s Tale were inspired after witnessing women wearing them in Afghanistan.

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       Councillor Mieka Smiles believes that balaclavas should be banned in public spaces (Image: Getty)

       It’s not just a harmless religious garment. It’s a full face and body covering that isolates women, cuts off communication and is totally at odds with the integration we so desperately need in this country. However, although I can increasingly sympathise with those who want it banned, my instinct is to defend the right of those who choose – choose being the operative word here – to wear one if they feel it is a sign of their faith.

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       But while that debate rumbles on, I think we have far more urgent issues to sort out. And here’s one: balaclavas. I am a local councillor for the leafy suburb of Nunthorpe in Middlesbrough, a peaceful place next to the stunning North Yorkshire Moors.

       It’s quiet and boasts a population who truly care for the area, which makes my job a lot easier. But even here we’re seeing the spread of something ugly: tyrant teens, often hiding their faces in masks, hoodies and, yes, balaclavas, racing around the streets on illegal motorbikes.

       I was heading out last weekend on a walk with the dog when a pair of balaclava-wearing teens began circling the local church hall car park on an illegal motorbike, close to where pensioners were filing into a local event. “Take those off,” I yelled “and get out of this area.” Their response? “What are you going to do about it?”

       Fair question. They had a hunk of metal – I had a little sausage dog. I whipped out my phone to start recording and told them I’d send it to the police. “Yeah? We have a message for them,” sneered one. As you can imagine, it wasn’t the most polite of communications… and certainly not repeatable here.

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       But this isn’t just a local annoyance: it’s become a national epidemic with terrifying consequences. Just last year, in Walsall, a seven-year-old girl was killed by a 15-year-old riding on an illegal motorbike at 52mph in a quiet residential 30mph zone. His face was hidden by a balaclava – or a ‘bally’ as the kids now call them.

       She was simply out on her pink scooter and never came home. Earlier this year in Edinburgh, gangs of feral teens intimidated and harassed the public as they recklessly drove through the streets, faces concealed. And closer to home, in Darlington, thugs on a moped trying to escape the law last month were finally stopped by police using a spike strip.

       In towns and cities across the country, young thugs are intimidating pedestrians and dodging traffic laws as they cut from road to pavement like they’re playing Grand Theft Auto.

       They have no licences, their bikes are untested and their driving is utterly reckless. All the time a menacing engine roar echoes through the air and makes residents fearful to step out. In London, if you see face marks, balaclavas and hoodies on the Tube, I’d put money on them being fare dodgers. And let’s not forget, balaclavas were first weaponised by the IRA in the 1970s. They are burned into British consciousness as a mask of terror.

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       Yet today they have become the outfit of choice for gang members and criminals who want to hide their identities while flouting both the law and common courtesy.

       So my message to the lawmakers? This is by far and away the more pressing issue: forget about the burka, let’s ban the balaclava.

       Start by outlawing them in public spaces unless worn for legitimate reasons. Pensioners no longer feel safe, parents are scared to let their kids play out and residents are at their wits’ end. We need practical policies that make life better for everyone. Let’s start with the item of clothing that really is putting them in danger.