Motorists risk having driving licences stripped for breaking 'really difficult' road rules

Lincolnshire Police have now warned that, in addition to having the e-scooter taken away, riders could also lose their licence.

It comes after the force seized several e-scooters last week during a traffic operation to crack down on the vehicles being ridden illegally.

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Under UK law, e-scooters operated outside of trial areas can result in riders being hit with six penalty points on their driving licence for the offence.

If someone collects 12 penalty points within three years, they are at risk of losing their licence as well as receiving a hefty penalty.

The riders caught last week were found to be illegally using e-scooters in the city centre by Lincoln Neighbourhood Policing officers, with the scooters then seized and reported for driving a motor vehicle without insurance.

The police also slapped a man with a £660 fine and eight points on his driving licence for driving without insurance and driving a motor vehicle without a licence.

PC Will Cawte said: "It's a really difficult thing to help people understand, because they can buy one in the shop, but then they can’t use it in any public places in this country.

"It's important to ensure everyone – particularly if you are a parent or carer – understand and follow the current rules and regulations, because it could be you at risk of being reported, and a young person could even end up with points on a ghost licence, which is another word for a licence they don’t yet hold."

He explained that because e-scooters are classed as motor vehicles under the Road Traffic Act 1988, "the same rules apply to them as other vehicles, meaning you have to have insurance, but at present, there is no way to get insurance for a private e-scooter".

Cawte stated that e-scooter owners can only use them on private land, like in a garden.

He added: "While we have been in the city centre targeting e-scooters, the positive feedback from the public and local businesses has been incredible, and we are so pleased they have approached us to share it.

"We have had people thanking us, and members of the public have been so happy with the police, that they have gone out of their way to make comment to staff involved in Lincoln Big, mention it to shop staff when they have been out and about, and some retailers have even emailed in to express their thanks."

E-scooters are currently only legal in certain parts of the UK with trials taking place in Bournemouth and Poole, Aylesbury, High Wycombe and Princes Risborough, Cambridge, Basildon, Braintree, Chelmsford and Colchester and Cheltenham and Gloucester.

Other regions include Liverpool, London (participating boroughs), Milton Keynes, Newcastle, Northampton, Kettering, Corby, Wellingborough, Rushden and Higham Ferrers, North Devon, Norwich, Oxford, Salford, Slough, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton, Taunton, Minehead and Yeovil as well as Birmingham and Bristol and Bath.

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The maximum speed for an e-scooter is 15.5mph with any devices found to exceed this immediately seized by police.

Commenting on plans to legalise e-scooters, a Department for Transport spokesperson said: "We are carefully considering next steps on e-scooters, but in the meantime private ones remain illegal for use on public roads."