Police e-bike seizures nearly double as campaigners call for clampdown on 'menace' bikes

Police e-bike seizures nearly double as campaigners call for clampdown on 'menace' bikes New figures have revealed a growing e-bike crisis on streets across the country, which has seen police seize several thousand illegal vehicles over the last year Police are seizing e-bikes at nearly souble the rate than they would usually, new data has revealed, leading campaigners to call for an urgent crackdown. Figures obtained by the Press Association show more than 7,000 of the vehicles were taken off UK streets in a 12-month period, an increase of 83 percent in a year. The data, obtained via a freedom-of-information request, showed that police confiscated 7,049 potentially dangerous models across the UK in the year to May 19. The number is a steep increase on 2025, when 3,858 were seized, and has prompted police, politicians and Brit charities to call for new laws clamping down on bikes - which have caused deaths and serious injuries in some cases. Sargeant Stuart Ford, who leads the City of London Police cycle team, called the illegal bikes "a menace", while Julie Minns, the Labour MP for Carlisle who has been campaigning for a ban on sales of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits, said they were the "perfect accessory to phone theft, mugging and drug dealing". The MP has said the bikes are also a danger to motorists and pedestrians, and called on Andy Burnham's Government to designate them an "unsafe product". Warning how e-bikes can put other motorists and pedestrians at risk of injury, she said they do not have an MOT, they are not licensed or insured and cannot be traced as they do not have registration plates. Ms Minns told the Press Association they were a "growing problem driven by a prevalence of delivery riders". But she added it was also an "accessory of choice" for phone-snatching, particularly in London. She said: "Something needs to be done about this and I think the way to do it is to designate an illegal e-bike because you have a definition of what a legal one is - the motor that will cut out at 15-and-a-half miles an hour - and as long as it does that, that's a perfectly legal e-bike ... which are a brilliant way of getting people cycling. "The illegal ones, however, are a problem and we need to do something about them. And the way to do it is to say, if it's not legal, it's an unsafe product. "I think an illegal e-bike is an unsafe product and I think the Government should designate illegal e-bikes so that the ones that don't meet the definition and the kits that create them that don't meet the definition of a legal e-bike, designate those an unsafe product and say to retailers you can no longer sell them." During a recent e-bike crackdown in Cardiff, South Wales Police arrested four riders on suspicion of drug offences after a man in his 20s was found with 33 wraps of crack cocaine and heroin worth about £1,000. Under UK law, legal e-bikes are known as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) and must meet certain safety regulations such as their electric motor having a maximum power output of 250 watts and cutting out when a speed of 15.5mph is reached. Many illegal e-bikes confiscated by police have been modified to travel much faster than the law allows, with some exceeding 70mph. Non-compliant machines are effectively electric mopeds or motorbikes, which must be registered, taxed and insured. Illegal e-bikes are both fast and, according to Sargeant Ford, up to three times heavier than conventional bikes. He warned that this combination could prove dangerous, adding: "If that was to hit a small child, it can cause serious injuries." Pedestrian safety charity Living Streets warned "the rise in e-bike use must not come at the expense of people walking" while the Royal National Institute of Blind People said e-bikes are "heavy, fast-moving, silent vehicles" that present a danger when "ridden carelessly". E-bikes have been behind a string of serious incidents. In May last year, 86-year-old pedestrian Gloria Stephenson was knocked down and killed by an illegal e-bike on a zebra crossing in Sunderland. On January 26 this year, a pregnant woman in her 30s struck by an e-bike while crossing a road in Poole, Dorset. She was taken to hospital where she prematurely gave birth to a seriously ill baby. Just a few months later on April 9, a 10-year-old child was seriously injured after being hit by an e-bike on a pavement in Grimsby. On top of collision injuries, e-bikes also pose a fire risk, as faulty batteries can ignite and set homes alight as they charge. A record 432 e-bike fires were reported in the UK last year, with brigades raising concerns about faulty batteries igniting while being charged. While major retailers sell thousands of legal e-bikes every year, many illegal machines are bought on the internet. Kits which add an electronic motor to a conventional bike are available online for under £300. As well as being used for crime, illegal e-bikes are also often used for legitimate journeys such as food deliveries and commuting. Thirty-one police forces out of 45 across the UK provided comparable data after PA's freedom-of-information requests. The Metropolitan Police was the force which seized the most e-bikes in the year to May 19, with 2,367. That was ahead of Leicestershire Police (661), Police Scotland (585) and Thames Valley Police (425). The 11 forces which saw seizures more than double year on year were Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Thames Valley and the Police Service of Northern Ireland. Wiltshire Police said half of its seizures were recorded in Swindon, the town which Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander's constituency covers. A Government spokeswoman said: "Illegal e-bikes that can reach dangerous speeds have no place on our roads and pavements, and the rise in seizures shows the scale of the problem police are dealing with. "That's why we have strengthened police powers, changing the law so that officers no longer need to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles where they are used anti-socially." These tougher powers came into force on June 29 under the Crime and Policing Act 2026. Earlier this year the Department for Business and Trade sought views on product safety reforms, including considering tougher rules on e-bike batteries and conversion kits, to crack down on illegal modifications. The department is expected to publish its response to the consultation next month.