Police seizures of “dangerous” e-bikes have soared by 83% nationwide in a year amid calls for a ban. Northumbria Police have also seized more e-bikes in the last year, figures have shown.
Some 7,049 of the machines were confiscated across the UK in the 12 months to May 19, according to data obtained by the Press Association under freedom-of-information laws. That is compared with 3,858 during the previous year.
Northumbria seizures rise sharply
In the Northumbria Police area, the number of e-bikes confiscated increased from 90 in 2024/25 to 262 in 2025/26. The figures have prompted police, politicians and charities to call for new laws to clamp down on the dangerous vehicles which have caused deaths and serious injuries in some cases.
Great-grandmother Gloria Stephenson, 86, was knocked down and killed by an illegal e-bike on a zebra crossing in Sunderland on May 16 last year. The rider, Billy Stokoe, aged 18 at the time, was under the influence of cannabis and holding a mobile phone.
Fatal crash and legal loopholes
He was jailed for six years and nine months after admitting causing death by dangerous driving. A court heard the off-road bike should not have been on the roads and even if Stokoe had seen Mrs Stephenson, he couldn't have braked, ChronicleLive has previously reported.
Labour MP for Carlisle Julie Minns, who has been campaigning for a ban on sales of illegal e-bikes and conversion kits, said they were the “perfect accessory to phone theft, mugging and drug dealing” as well as a danger to motorists and pedestrians as she called on Andy Burnham’s Government to brand them an “unsafe product”.
Regulations and police powers
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 May 19, with 2,367.
That was ahead of Leicestershire Police (661), Police Scotland (585) and Thames Valley Police (425). The 11 forces where seizures more than doubled 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.
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 June 29 under the Crime and Policing Act 2026.
