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Good Morning Everyone;
With Halloween and Bonfire night now behind us Christmas is rapidly approaching many of us are turning our thoughts to Christmas and the season of giving. Greater Manchester Police and partners are urging families to think carefully before buying off-road bikes, illegal e-bikes and e-scooters as Christmas gifts. Remember these, vehicles used unlawfully could be seized and destroyed.
The warning comes as part of Operation Hurricane continues to sweep through the force area. Op Hurricane is GMP's coordinated crackdown on the anti-social and dangerous use of off-road bikes, e-bikes and quad bikes across Greater Manchester. Operation Hurricane has seized 503 bikes so far this year with 25 people have been arrested by the team.
The misuse of these vehicles continues to cause significant disruption within communities, affecting quality of life and posing serious risks to the public. In some cases, this behaviour has resulted in serious injuries and fatal collisions, with devastating consequences for victims, their families and local neighbourhoods as has been seen by the tragic case where 14 year old Jacob Calland sadly died through an e-scooter road traffic collision.
In this short YouTube video Jacob’s mother Carley talks through the tragic events in March 2025.
https://youtu.be/NgIwEJ_v9C0?si=BKFMA4DvXnJaDnYV
Vision Zero is Greater Manchester’s ambition is to eliminate deaths and serious injuries on the region’s roads by 2040. Under the new Transport Policing and Crime Command, Officers from our Roads Policing Unit (RPU), Drone and Motorcycle Unit and the National Police Air Service (NPAS) joined neighbourhood teams in turning out to specific hotspot areas to deter, detect and disrupt offences from taking place.
Working closely with partners, we used intelligence to target areas of concern and responded to reports from the public.
As we now move towards Christmas, our message is now one of deterrence. Many people purchase these vehicles with good intentions but may not fully understand where they can legally be used or the consequences if they are ridden unlawfully.
Superintendent Mike Russell from our Prevention Branch, said: “Communities consistently tell us this issue affects their day-to-day life. “Illegal and anti-social riding can intimidate residents, place pedestrians at risk and create significant disruption in neighbourhoods. We also know these vehicles are increasingly being used to facilitate wider criminality.
"We are urging families to understand the legal requirements around these vehicles, where they can be ridden and the consequences of using them unlawfully."
“These bikes and scooters can cost a significant amount of money. If the vehicle is being used illegally and is seized, there is a possibility it may be destroyed, leaving families substantially out of pocket”.
Our first aim is always education. And we want the public to know the facts before they decide to buy these as gifts: Many e-bikes are legal and provide a sustainable form of transport. You can ride an electric bike if you’re 14 or over, and if it is an ‘electrically assisted pedal cycle’ (EAPC). It can be propelled up to a maximum of 15.5mph without pedalling but only if it has been approved. Privately owned e-scooters can only be used on private land with the permission of the landowner. Riders should ensure any e-bike complies with Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle (EAPC) regulations or it may be treated as a motor vehicle in law.
You can find more information regarding electrically assisted pedal cycles, often known as E-bikes by visiting the government website here… https://www.gov.uk/electric-bike-rules Or by visiting Cycle UK website here… (please note this is an external website and not endorsed by GMP) https://www.cyclinguk.org/article/electric-cycles-and-law-what-you-need-know Our colleagues from Wiltshire Police also have an informative video regarding E-Bikes here… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TPuUofuKVNg
Anyone concerned about the anti-social use of bikes in their area can report it via gmp.police.uk or by calling 101 or via LiveChat on our website. In an emergency, always call 999.
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