Council warns of ‘extreme danger’ of e-bikes after fatal fire
An inquest has heard the “most probable” cause of the fire was the “failure of a charging battery pack”
Last updated 19th Oct 2026
The council is warning of the “extreme risk” posed by illegally modified e-bikes after a faulty battery was implicated in the deaths of two children.
An ongoing inquest into the fire which claimed the lives of Gemma Germeney, 31, and her two children, aged eight and four, heard the “most probable” cause of the fire was the “failure of a charging battery pack”.
Cambridgeshire County Council backed a motion calling for better awareness of the rules around e-bikes and e-scooters as modified vehicles can pose “extreme danger to the public”. Cllr Anna Bradnam, of Waterbeach, said the inquest had found that the battery had been replaced and “wired in a way that made it dangerous”.
The Lib Dem councillor said: “I think we owe it to our residents to make it absolutely abundantly clear what risks they’re taking if they choose to alter the batteries. This is not just for the people who buy them, it’s for the people working in garages who might be asked to solve an electrical problem.
“Having these batteries that are very powerful and being charged in homes overnight is an extreme risk and I wouldn’t want it to happen to anybody else.”
Cllr David Levien, of Trumpington, who brought forward the motion, said that modified vehicles can cause serious injuries through not just speed – but their weight too.
The Lib Dem councillor said: “The high-performance models are heavy and at their top legal speed contain sufficient energy to be capable of causing serious injury or death to members of the public as well as the rider. I have seen, and no doubt others here will have seen, e-bikes being ridden in public at speeds greater than 40 miles per hour – some are even capable of 70 miles per hour.”
Under current laws, e-bikes have a capped speed of 15.5mph and cannot have a maximum motor power of more than 250W – but conversion kits can be bought to change this. E-scooters are always illegal on public land unless rented from a company like Voi.
The Lib Dem councillor also requested more data from hospitals on injuries and deaths so the “true nature of the danger of these vehicles can be better understood”.
Cllr Geoffrey Seeff, of St Neots The Eatons, said a BBC report in 2025 found a London hospital had dealt with 150 serious injuries in six months involving both children and adults.
The Lib Dem councillor said: “Because of their motors and batteries, these machines are extremely heavy and cause horrific damage in a collision or if they fall on the rider. Numerous deaths have been reported both here and in the USA, we have tried unsuccessfully thus far to obtain the relevant statistics for Cambridgeshire and the country as a whole.”
Cllr Christopher Morris, chair of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority, said that the vehicles are a “transformative technology”.
The Lib Dem councillor said: “Regulating transformative technology is always a balancing act – we must support rapid adoption while making sure it does not run ahead of sensible risk management. Our fire service recognises the growing risks linked to e-bike lithium ion batteries and that around three quarters of identifiable e-bike fires involve conversion kits, mismatched chargers or other post-purchase modifications.
“I support this motion and the members’ bill that it references and additionally I would urge everyone involved to keep fire risk firmly in view at every stage.”