Portable tester helps crackdown on illegal e-bikes

A new portable tester is helping a police campaign to crack down on illegal e-bikes speeding through the centre of Nottingham.

The vehicles are often used for online food deliveries, but Nottinghamshire Police said they were one of the biggest causes of complaints in the city.

Riders require a driving licence and insurance if their e-bikes can go more than 15.5mph ( 24.94km/h) without pedalling.

Officers have been testing new technology that is helping them seize the most powerful bikes and take them off the streets.

Police said the "compact dynanometer" examines the top speed of bikes and e-scooters, helping officers confiscate vehicles from people who should not be using them.

The equipment was acquired from Switzerland using funds from the office of Nottinghamshire's Police and Crime Commissioner, and allows an accurate testing of a vehicle's top speed when unaided by cyclists "without needing a full test track or laboratory".

Nottinghamshire Police said it has seized 34 e-bikes between 3 November and 5 January, with 24 riders facing court proceedings for having no licence or insurance and 48 "education packs" distributed.

Sgt Dan Butler, from the force's neighbourhood policing team for Nottingham city centre, said officers are also looking to stop illegal vehicles from being brought onto the streets as well as seizing them when they are spotted.

"Officers from our team are reaching out to the food delivery companies, just to see what checks they are doing [and] if they are aware that these types of bikes are being used," he said.

"They're clearly wearing uniforms, they're being branded within certain food delivery companies, representing their companies on illegal e-bikes, so there's obviously work ongoing."

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