WATCH: Illegal e-bikes seized and crushed in crackdown across Chorley and South Ribble

Lancashire Police are intensifying efforts to tackle the growing issue of illegal e-bikes and e-scooters, with the most recent operation targeting hotspots in Leyland, Chorley and Bamber Bridge.

A total of 16 bikes were confiscated during the day of action on Wednesday 17th September, as part of Operation Centurion; the force’s wider anti-social behaviour initiative.

Sergeant Lee Pendlebury from the Roads Crime Unit said: "As a result of community complaints, it's been identified that electric vehicles are causing problems for communities, so we've put together an operation aimed at targeting them and trying to reduce the amount on the roads. The majority of them are illegal. Unless they're fully licenced, insured and road legal; they can't be on the roads.

"We're getting more and more people getting seriously hurt and killed by them. On top of that, we're getting criminals using them because they think it's an easy way of getting away from us. So this operation is targeting all of that.

"We've got the Neighbourhood Police out searching, we've got members of Road Policing out in case any specialist tactics are needed and we've got a drone."

Sgt Pendlebury told us unmarked officers and cars are being utilised to make the operation more successful: "It gives us that element of surprise against people. The officers in civilian clothes are usually out on foot and if anything passes them, they can take the opportunity to stop it.

"Quite a lot of the bikes won't stop if they're being used for criminality so we use the unmarked vehicles to monitor them for as long as we can, to put the safest plan in place to get them stopped, before they react to us."

Police confirmed that all seized vehicles from the operation will not be returned to their owners and will instead be crushed. In addition to vehicle seizures, officers have been engaging with young riders to educate them on the legal requirements for operating electric-powered vehicles, and parents are being urged not to purchase the vehicles for their children.

Residents are encouraged to report sightings of illegal e-bikes and scooters via the Lancashire Police website or anonymously through Crimestoppers.

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Rayo app.