Police clamping down on e-bike users flouting the law
Illegal devices are being seized and taken away for good
30 illegal e-bikes and e-scooters have been seized by Wiltshire Police in the first month of a crackdown on their use across the county.
It's part of Operation Jetsom, which is a response to an issue that the Force says it hears about on a regular basis.
Inspector Joe Senior said: "When we go to our Parish Council meetings, when we do our Community pop-up engagements, when we speak to our independent advisory groups, one of the issues that comes back time and time again is the use of these scooters and e-bikes."
People have raised concerns about how the devices are being used in public spaces, with people feeling at risk of being hurt, children using them and helmets not being used.
Inspector Senior revealed there have been more than 50 fatalities involving e-scooters in the last six years.
Ahead of the enforcement phase of Op Jetsom, officers carried out an educational campaign to make people aware of what is and isn't permitted, regarding adding motors to bikes, and the electrical power limits bikes should have.
Inspector Senior said there has been cases of people saying they weren't aware that their device wasn't legal.
"There's an argument that perhaps the messaging hasn't got everywhere yet, but my view is that by starting to actually take these things off people and then show that we've taken them off people, that message gets around," he said.
Officers have been taking illegal e-bikes and e-scooters off the streets with the promise that they won't be returned to those who were using them.
Aside from illegal motors and power exceeding lawful limits, e-bikes and e-scooters can't be insured, which means users can be prosecuted under the road traffic legislation.
Once seized, illegal devices are taken away by a third-party company to be destroyed, but Inspector Senior says a piece of public feedback about recycling them has triggered discussions about how some of the devices can be used legally.
He told us: "There was a comment on there from a couple of people saying well, could we not recycle some of these bikes, where it's a legal bike that's had an illegal motor strapped onto it?
"I think that's a really good idea, so that is something we're exploring. It seems a shame that we're destroying what could otherwise be used by people in need. There are some organisations who I'm sure would love to have those bikes if we could get them to them in a legal way."
He insisted that officers aren't aiming to "spoil people's fun", they're simply trying to keep people safe.
"When there's a collision involved in one of these scooters, that could that could ruin or end someone's life and we're trying to do something about it."