Police launch crackdown on e-scooter riders in south London

18 May 2021, 16:53 | Updated: 18 May 2021, 19:10

Police launched a crackdown on people riding e-scooters in south London, seizing multiple vehicles and taking them off the streets.

Officers targeted Brixton town centre in the operation which saw 20 vehicles seized for either not having any insurance or for being used without a licence.

E-scooters can be bought legally but can only currently be used legally on private land with the owner's permission. Use on pavements or roads is not permitted.

The crackdown came after it was announced that a rental trial of e-scooters will take place on some roads and cycle paths in London from June 7 for one year.

They will be available to rent across five boroughs in the capital, including Ealing, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond and the City.

As a part of the pilot, the e-scooters will be limited to a maximum of 12.5 mph and in some areas 8mph. The 12mph speed limit has resulted in safety concerns from the public being raised.

Blind caller 'scared' to walk streets due to e-scooters on pavement

One caller spoke to LBC's Shelagh Fogarty today about her concerns. The woman, who is blind, told LBC today: "My partner, who is fully sighted, and I were walking around the back streets and, without any warning from behind, whizzed by a young person, recklessly driving on an e-scooter, very narrowly missed my white guide cane.

"We could have been involved in an accident - these things are heavy and dangerous on the pavement."

"...I'm scared, now, to walk the streets."

Police recently launched an appeal after a three-year-old boy was left with two broken collarbones after being hit by a person riding an e-scooter on a footpath in west London.

The child was walking on the pavement in Feltham with his grandmother when he was hit from behind.

The scooter rider fell in the collision but got back on and rode away without stopping, the Metropolitan Police said.