Hampshire police crushes dozens of e-scooters near Southampton

The vehicles have been used to commit serious crimes and have put other road users, as well as the riders, at risk of serious injury because of how dangerously they were being driven, Hampshire Constabulary said.

The vehicles were seized as part of Operation Crush, which aims to combat the illegal use of privately owned, powered, two-wheel vehicles such as e-scooters and off-road electric motorcycles.

More than 50 of the vehicles seized by the operation so far were e-scooters, while 26 electric bikes have also been seized after they were illegally modified, with some owners taking them on major routes including the M3.

READ MORE: E-scooters are a 'plague' on Southampton, says councillor

Police Sergeant Jamie Dobson (left) with Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones (Image: Chris Atkinson) Hampshire police was given enhanced powers to destroy e-scooters and e-motorcycles being used in crime by Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones.

Police Sergeant Jamie Dobson, of the force's roads policing unit, said: “By using these enhanced powers to destroy these vehicles after seizing them, we are stopping these criminals from going straight back out and committing the same offences multiple times.

“It is a significant new weapon in our armoury to help us combat the rise in these vehicles being used in criminality and anti-social behaviour.

“The campaign was launched to crackdown on the illegal use of these vehicles, which had become increasingly popular with those committing a variety of different crimes, including those involved in drugs gangs.

“A particular focus for our officers is the use of e-motorbikes and off road ‘scramblers’ which are often being used for nothing other than dangerous road use, anti-social behaviour and serious criminality.  They are almost always owned by the people riding them and when we seize and destroy them they are thousands of pounds worse off.

“This tougher stance is helping us keep our roads safer, as the vehicles are often used dangerously, potentially putting lives at risk.”

Ms Jones said: “Since being elected as the Police Commissioner in 2021, the public have consistently told me they want the police to do more to crack down on e-scooters.

"Too often we see people on privately owned e-scooters riding dangerously on roads and pavements breaking the law.

"I have seen a number of dangerous collisions, particularly on pavements, which have resulted in people suffering significant injuries, some of them life-changing.

“Whilst many people use e-scooters as environmentally friendly travel, residents and road users have a right to be concerned about the dangers of privately owned e-scooters which are illegal to ride on the road and are often being used to commit crime.

“My message is absolutely clear - if you choose to operate an e-scooter illegally you will face the consequences and to the criminals and drug gangs using them, they will be seized and destroyed.”

Crushed e-scooters (Image: Chris Atkinson) SEE ALSO: Residents fume as Voi e-scooters cause mess

The vehicles are being crushed at Silverlake Automotive Recycling in Botley Road, Shedfield, with around a dozen destroyed on Monday.

Tom Harvey, head of organisation development at Silverlake, said: “Silverlake is a business; we have had a strong relationship with Hampshire Constabulary for a number of years now. Working together we have been able to support them in their drive to improve road safety and anything we can do to support them, we’ll do that.

“But it also helps us to showcase the importance of responsible vehicle recycling. The relationship we have built is a strong relationship built on trust and shared values. As a business, we like to contribute to our local community and supporting things like Operation Crush allows us as a business to give something back to the community.”

For information about the laws surrounding the use of e-scooters can be found on the Hampshire Constabulary website.