00:01The rapid rise in the use of electric bikes across the northeast has sparked growing concern
00:07among police and local communities, with warnings that some of these machines are being used in
00:12ways that make them both illegal and potentially dangerous on public roads. Northumbria police say
00:18many electric bikes being seen on the region's streets are not road legal, with some capable of
00:24reaching extreme speeds far beyond what is permitted. Officers have warned that certain
00:30adapted models are only intended for private land, but are increasingly being used in everyday traffic.
00:36In August 2025, police in Sunderland seized an adapted e-bike capable of reaching more than 80
00:42miles per hour. At the time, officers described it as the fastest illegally modified pedal cycle
00:49they had encountered in the area. The bike was stopped on Durham Road after reports it was
00:54travelling in front of a car at speeds of over 35 miles per hour, itself illegal for such a vehicle
01:01on public roads. Police said the machine was capable of reaching 83.2 miles per hour, a figure they
01:08described as incredibly worrying. Authorities say the issue is not limited to high-speed modification
01:14alone, but also to widespread misunderstanding about what is and is not legal. Northumbria police
01:20have urged the public to help provide intelligence on reckless use, warning that some bikes being sold
01:26and used are not designed for public road conditions. Superintendent Billy Mulligan of Northumbria
01:33Police's Operations Department said that while such bikes are often associated with antisocial behaviour,
01:39the reality is more complex. He said,
01:41when you think of these types of bikes, you think of kids in balaclavas and antisocial behaviour.
01:46He added, there's also kids going to school on them. Just because certain shops are selling them
01:51doesn't mean they are safe. He went on to say, the message to any parent is really to understand
01:57the capability of these bikes. He said, it's a regional and a national issue. Against that backdrop,
02:03the dangers of illegal and high-powered e-bikes were brought into sharp focus in Sunderland last year,
02:09in a case that has now ended in a prison sentence. Billy Stokoe, a teenager from Sunderland,
02:15was jailed for six years and nine months after pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous
02:20driving following a fatal collision in Silksworth. Newcastle Crown Court heard that Stokoe was riding
02:26an illegal and defective Suron electric motorbike on May 16th, 2025, when he collided with 86-year-old
02:34Gloria Stevenson on a pedestrian crossing. Judge Robert Adams said Mrs Stevenson was a
02:41vulnerable road user who had waited for traffic to stop before crossing. The case has added to
02:46growing calls from police for greater awareness and tighter controls around the use of high-powered
02:51electric bikes, as authorities warn that the risks are no longer hypothetical,
02:56vehicle, but already being felt on the region's roads.
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