Most illegal e-bikes used by deliverers, says City of London Police

City of London Police seized 295 illegally modified e-bikes over a 12-month period up to August 2024

The City of London Police recorded 295 seizures of illegally modified e-bikes, which was more than any other police force that provided figures to the PA news agency, although it did not have a comparable number for the year before.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, City of London Police’s Sgt Stuart Ford, who leads the cycle response unit, pointed out that the illegally modified bikes did not need to be insured and the “vast majority” of those force seized were used by workers employed to deliver food. “So, they’ll buy a normal bike, and then they’ll buy a kit online of batteries - which are unstable in a lot of cases - throttles and rear hub motors that will turn them into mopeds basically.”

The City of London Police set up its Cycle Response Unit in July 2023 in response to community concerns about road safety and anti-social behaviour.