Police seize 118 e-scooters and e-bikes over summer

The force said officers had seized 21 of the e-scooters or e-bikes since the start of the month

Police have seized 118 e-scooters and e-bikes in the Thames Valley since the start of June.

Thames Valley Police said the data - accurate as of Wednesday - included 21 since the start of September.

It is illegal to ride e-scooters in public places, including on the road, because they cannot be legally insured and offenders risk a fine and points on their driving licence.

Two people have been seriously injured in the Thames Valley as a result of accidents involving e-scooters since the start of the month, the force said.

A teenage boy was hurt while riding an e-scooter in Binfield Road in Bracknell, Berkshire, on 1 September.

He swerved to avoid the opening door of a parked van and hit a lamppost. No-one has been arrested.

A woman in her 60s sustained serious head injuries after she was struck by an e-scooter at the junction of Avebury Boulevard and Witan Gate in Milton Keynes on 6 September.

A 40-year-old man, from Milton Keynes, was arrested on suspicion of causing serious injury by dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and failing to stop at the scene of a road traffic collision. He has been bailed.

'Dangerous'

To be legal, an e-bike has to comply with legislation and its rider must be at least 14.

At present e-scooters may only be ridden on the roads legally through rental trial schemes that have been set up in dozens of towns and cities.

Community policing commander Insp Mike Darrah said: “Dangerous, illegal, and inappropriate use of both e-scooters and e-bikes poses serious risks in the community and is something the public continue to rightly raise to us as a concern.

“These stats highlight the progress we are making in dealing with this issue but as the incidents of the past couple of weeks in different areas of the force show, there is still a lot more work to do.

“Through both seizing vehicles that are being used illegally and continuing to educate people on the laws, preventing offences, our communities will be safer.”