Confiscations of dangerous e-bikes by police forces across the UK have risen by 83 per cent over a single year following targeted operations.
Data obtained by the Press Association through freedom-of-information requests reveals that 7,049 machines were seized in the 12 months to 19 May, compared with 3,858 in the previous period.
The sharp increase has driven calls from police, politicians and charities for updated legislation to address non-compliant models linked to fatalities and severe injuries.
Sergeant Stuart Ford, who heads the City of London Police cycle team, branded illegal e-bikes "a menace".
Julie Minns, Labour MP for Carlisle, is pushing for a ban on sales of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits, describing them as the "perfect accessory to phone theft, mugging and drug dealing". She called on Andy Burnham’s Government to designate them an "unsafe product".
During a recent crackdown in Cardiff, South Wales Police arrested four riders on suspicion of drug offences after a man in his 20s was found carrying 33 wraps of heroin and crack cocaine worth roughly £1,000.
Under UK law, legal e-bikes are known as electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPCs) and must meet certain safety regulations such as their electric motor having a maximum power output of 250 watts and cutting out when a speed of 15.5mph is reached.
Many illegal e-bikes confiscated by police have been modified to travel much faster, with some exceeding 70mph.
Non-compliant machines are effectively electric mopeds or motorbikes, which must be registered, taxed and insured.
While major retailers sell thousands of legal e-bikes every year, many illegal machines are bought on the internet.
Kits which add an electronic motor to a conventional bike are available online for under £300.
As well as being used for crime, illegal e-bikes are also often used for legitimate journeys such as food deliveries and commuting.
Thirty-one police forces out of 45 across the UK provided comparable data after PA’s freedom-of-information requests.
The Metropolitan Police was the force which seized the most e-bikes in the year to 19 May, with 2,367.
That was ahead of Leicestershire Police (661), Police Scotland (585) and Thames Valley Police (425).
The 11 forces which saw seizures more than double year on year were Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Hampshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Northumbria, South Yorkshire, Suffolk, Thames Valley and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
Wiltshire Police said half of its seizures were recorded in Swindon, the town which Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander’s constituency covers.
Last month, the Met carried out an operation to catch illegal e-bike users near Tottenham Court Road station in London’s West End – a hotspot for phone theft and other street crime.
Speaking to PA at the scene, Commander Neerav Patel said Londonders were “fed-up of the criminal and antisocial use of e-bikes”.
The force has started using portable rolling road devices so officers can test an e-bike’s maximum speed using its motor to help them spot illegal machines.
City of London Police seized four of the machines in just half an hour last month.
Mr Ford said some illegal e-bikes are three times heavier than a conventional bike.
“If that was to hit a small child, it can cause serious injuries,” he warned.
Calling for new legislation to deal with illegal e-bike users, he added: “I would like to see specific laws around e-bikes brought in.”
Pedestrian safety charity Living Streets warned “the rise in e-bike use must not come at the expense of people walking” while the Royal National Institute of Blind People said e-bikes are “heavy, fast-moving, silent vehicles” that present a danger when “ridden carelessly”.
E-bikes have been behind a string of serious incidents:
- Pedestrian Gloria Stephenson, 86, was knocked down and killed by an illegal e-bike on a zebra crossing in Sunderland in May last year.
- A 10-year-old child was seriously injured after being hit by an e-bike on a pavement in Grimsby on 9 April.
- A pregnant woman in her 30s struck by an e-bike while crossing a road in Poole, Dorset on 26 January was taken to hospital where she prematurely gave birth to a seriously ill baby.
- A record 432 e-bike fires were reported in the UK last year, with brigades raising concerns about faulty batteries igniting while being charged.
A Government spokeswoman said: “Illegal e-bikes that can reach dangerous speeds have no place on our roads and pavements, and the rise in seizures shows the scale of the problem police are dealing with.
“That’s why we have strengthened police powers, changing the law so that officers no longer need to issue a warning before seizing these vehicles where they are used anti-socially.”
These tougher powers came into force on 29 June under the Crime and Policing Act 2026.