E-bikes linked to nearly 40,000 crimes and crashes in three years as calls grow for registration plates and for them to be treated like mopeds

E-bikes have been linked to tens of thousands of crimes and road accidents, sparking calls for further pressure from ministers.

Almost 39,000 incidents involving increasingly popular vehicles have been recorded by police forces in the last three years, a 70 per cent increase in that period.

These include numerous pedestrians being struck, causing deaths and life-changing injuries in many cases, drug trafficking, robberies, assaults and sexual crimes.

Some drivers were carrying weapons or were drunk when stopped by police officers; Many devices belonging to illegal immigrants were also seized.

Data obtained by the Mail also shows forces have failed to identify hundreds of suspects, prompting fresh calls for e-bike riders to be forced to show license plates or other visible markings.

29 of 43 police forces in England and Wales responded with data, meaning the actual figures are likely to be higher.

E-bikes must be limited to a maximum speed of 15.5mph to be legal on UK roads, but faster models can be bought online or easily modified to go up to speeds of up to 70mph.

City of London Police officers were recently seen inspecting e-bikes.

It was an incident that shocked the nation when young e-bike rider Billy Stokoe mowed down grandmother Gloria Stephenson to death in a crosswalk.

This officially turns them into motor vehicles and makes them illegal. The increasing number of events and the ease with which they can be modified has led to increasing calls for them to be automatically classified as motor vehicles and treated in the same way as mopeds.

E-bikes have a battery, electric motor, and a built-in control system to assist in pedaling; This means they can easily reach much higher speeds than traditional push bikes and can be caught exceeding road speed limits.

However, many drivers hit the roads without a license and insurance. They are also used by criminals to commit crimes such as street robberies because attackers can quickly flee the scene and avoid detection.

Conservative Shadow Transport Secretary Greg Smith said: ‘It is clear that e-bikes are being used for dangerous and criminal purposes across the UK.

‘The government cannot bury its head in the sand and take real action before more people get hurt or worse.’

Nick Freeman Nick Freeman, also known as celebrity road lawyer Mr Loophole, added: ‘If you don’t know who’s driving [because e-bikes don’t have reg plates]and you can’t find the driver or passenger, the law is impotent, meaningless.

‘That’s why most of these people are not held accountable.

‘They should be classed as mopeds and motorcycles and if you’re going to buy one you have to have a number plate and that solves the problem very simply and allows the police to hold people to account.

‘The law cannot keep up and cannot protect the public. And it’s very simple. Just add an addendum to the Road Traffic Act saying all e-bikes will now be classed as motor vehicles; This means having a helmet, insurance and a registration plate.’

Jamie Hassall, chief executive of the Parliamentary Transport Safety Advisory Council, which advises MPs, said: ‘While legal e-bikes can play an important role in cleaner and more accessible transport, the increasing prevalence of illegal modified e-bikes threatens to undermine public confidence in the whole sector.

‘Enforcement becomes particularly difficult as many of these vehicles are visually indistinguishable from compatible e-bikes, despite being capable of speed and performance that place them firmly within the category of motor vehicles.

Billy Stokoe mowed down grandmother Gloria Stephenson to death at a pedestrian crossing in an incident that shocked the country.

Gloria Stephenson killed at pedestrian crossing by e-bike rider Billy Stokoe

BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell recently revealed her daughter Lilla was seriously injured following an e-bike hit-and-run

‘We urgently need stronger action to reduce illegal use and improve public safety.’

The figures follow a series of high-profile crashes involving e-bikes, including one involving BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell’s daughter.

Describing the hit-and-run involving his 26-year-old daughter Lilla last month, Mr Campbell said the incident took place with his three sisters in Peckham, south London, and that it had been a ‘long and emotional night’ after his daughter was ‘seriously injured’.

In another incident that shocked the nation, teenager Billy Stokoe was jailed for six years and nine months for hitting 86-year-old grandmother Gloria Stephenson at a zebra crossing in Sunderland in 2025.

Stokoe had taken marijuana and was using a mobile phone when the fatal crash occurred.

Devon & Cornwall and Dorset Police recorded one of the highest number of incidents, collectively recording more than 9,600 incidents over three years.

E-bikes have been involved in approximately 1000 Road Traffic Collision (RTCs). More than 700 were linked to ‘violence against the person’ incidents, 60 to drug offences, 40 to ‘weapons possession’ offenses and 84 to sexual offences.

Police were unable to identify the suspect in 3,396 cases (more than a third).

West Yorkshire Police recorded one of the biggest increases in incidents in percentage terms, jumping from 1,798 in 2023 to 4,001 last year. This was an increase of 122 percent. In total, the force recorded 8,647 incidents over the three-year period.

There were more than 5,700 incidents of anti-social behavior and crime, including around 500 RTCs and 250 robberies, 156 incidents of arson and criminal damage and 19 drug offences.

Police said they were unable to identify the suspect in 1,655 cases.

City of London Police said there had been a number of arrests of e-bike riders, including for offenses such as ‘Immigration – Entering/remaining in the UK’.

This may include people working in the gig economy, such as delivering fast food.

A Government spokesman said: ‘Anyone who uses an e-bike to intimidate, injure or commit a crime should expect police action, including a fine of up to £2,500, license points and criminal prosecution.

‘We have given the police stronger powers to seize anti-socially used vehicles, including faster and more powerful e-bikes, without the need to give any warning.

‘Modified e-bikes can be confiscated if used without a license or insurance and we crack down on unsafe products sold online.’