Police have delivered a firm message to users of illegal e-scooters and electric bikes - get off the roads or your vehicles will be crushed.

This week, Hampshire Police dealt the crushing blow to criminals by destroying more than 100 illegal e-scooters and electric bikes as part of the ongoing Operation Crush.

The vehicles were taken to a scrapyard in the county and compressed into giant metal cubes.

In its first year, the operation has seen a significant rise in the number of vehicles seized, with more than 50 e-scooters taken off the roads in 2024 alone.

Under current legislation, all privately owned e-scooters are not road-legal, and many of the seized vehicles were linked to road traffic incidents, including collisions involving riders under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Alongside e-scooters, the operation also targeted illegally modified electric bikes - vehicles often associated with more serious criminal activities. In some cases, the bikes’ users were found in possession of knives and drugs, further highlighting the dangers they pose to both riders and innocent road users.

While standard road motorcycles and e-bikes are not illegal, modifications made by criminals allow these vehicles to reach dangerous speeds, putting lives at risk. Some of the seized vehicles were even being used on motorways and A-roads.

Operation Crush has made significant strides since its launch in 2023. In 2024, the operation resulted in the seizure of 26 illegally modified e-bicycles, 15 e-motorbikes, 56 e-scooters, and eight off-road petrol motorcycles—an increase compared to 2023, which saw the seizure of six e-bikes, three e-motorbikes, 26 e-scooters, and six off-road petrol motorcycles.

Last year, Hampshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Donna Jones, signed an agreement granting the force enhanced powers to use existing legislation, allowing officers to destroy any e-scooter or e-motorcycle involved in criminal activity.

Police Sergeant Jamie Dobson, of the 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.“

He said the use of illegal bikes and scooters was often linked to drugs gangs.

He added: “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 added: “Since being elected as the Police Commissioner in 2021, the public have consistently told me they want the police to do more to crackdown on e-scooters.

“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.”

For information about the laws surrounding the use of e-scooters,visit: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/advice/advice-and-information/rs/road-safety/advice-escooters/