MORE illegal electric scooters are being seized by police officers in the county, new data shows. 

An Freedom of Information request to Dorset Police shows in the 2023/24 financial year, 78 e-scooters were taken off the roads by officers. 

This is up by 25 per cent from the previous financial year of 62. In 2021/22, the number seized was 30 and during Covid, it was just two. 

No e-scooters were seized by police officers in 2019/20, the recently published Freedom of Information request has revealed. 

Dorset’s police and crime commissioner David Sidwick said he has “many concerns” over the use of illegal scooters. 

In BCP, the only legal use of e-scooters is on a Beryl, which requires users to register via an app and their driver’s licence details added. 

Mr Sidwick said: “I take issue with the irresponsible retailers who sell these items, they are quite simply misleading the public.  

“You cannot buy and use an e-scooter on any public land and that includes roads, pavements, pathways, bridleways or walkways – so unless you personally own great swathes of land in Dorset you simply cannot ride these machines legally outside of the Beryl rental scheme.” 

E-scooters are subject to the same legal requirements as a car – including MOT, licensing and insurance. 

But Mr Sidwick said he believes there is potential for private e-scooters to be a “transformative form of personal transport” in the future. 

He added: “However, there are too many people that use e-scooters in an irresponsible and dangerous manner.”