Illegal e-bikes will be crushed, police warn

Illegally modified e-bikes, scramblers and scooters are being crushed in a crackdown on antisocial behaviour and organised crime.

Dorset Police said the operation, focusing on Poole and north Bournemouth, was in response to an increase in reported incidents.

Insp Nick Lee, of Poole Neighbourhood Policing Team, said illegally adapted electric vehicles were enabling serious violent crime, drug-dealing and acquisitive crime.

Since the start of 2025, the force has seized 52 electric scooters and 33 electric bikes which were being driven illegally.

Police are also working with Bournemouth University to analyse data from the crackdown to inform future tactics.

Mr Lee said tackling antisocial behaviour remained "a key priority".

"The large proportion of calls we have received demonstrates how concerned our communities are about the use of these vehicles in public," he said.

Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: "If you're caught riding one of these vehicles illegally, it will be seized, crushed and recycled."

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