"Ask yourself one question: where can the person receiving it legally ride it? If the answer is to school, around the estate, along the pavement, or through the park... don't buy them one. No present is worth a police seizure, penalty points, or destroying a vehicle."

PCC Joy Allen, Durham

Excuses corner

“Darlington isn’t like Bridgwater…”

Social Media reassuring residents

  • The Problem: Illegal private e-scooters and e-bikes on Bridgwater pavements make our town centre feel unsafe, creating severe hazards for pedestrians, elderly shoppers, and parents with prams while dodging proper accountability.

  • The Solution: Forces like Durham Constabulary (in Darlington) implemented a hard-hitting zero-tolerance approach under Section 165, publicly crushing confiscated machines and posting video proof on social media to stop parents wasting hundreds of pounds on non-road-legal gifts.

  • Bridgwater's Opportunity: Avon and Somerset Police do not need hundreds of new officers to address this. By adopting targeted high-street sweeps and publishing visual deterrents online, we can cut off demand at the source and make our town centre safe.

Further Reading:

  • The Darlington Way: Zero-Tolerance Seizures

    • What it is: How police in Darlington crushed over 70 seized e-scooters and e-bikes as part of a targeted crackdown on anti-social behaviour.

    • Quote from PCC Joy Allen: “I promised tough action on anti-social use of bikes, e-scooters and off-road vehicles, and I am pleased to see that commitment being delivered.

      The message to offenders is clear: if you choose to blight communities with these vehicles, you could see them seized and gone for good. This behaviour creates misery for residents and undermines community safety. Taking offending vehicles off the streets is one of the most effective ways to stop the problem and improve

      quality of life for local people.”

    • Where to look: Read the Northern Echo E-Scooter Crackdown Report.

  • Operation Endurance

    • What it is: An operation to tackle nuisance vehicles that is ongoing.

    • Where to look: A direct action page for citizens to report nuisance vehicles and more information on the operation- Operation Endurance

  • Official Police Enforcement Guidance

    • What it is: Official police information outlining Section 165 seizure powers and road traffic legal requirements.

    • Where to look: Review guidelines on Durham Constabulary.

  • My Original Social Media Graphic 'Show Your Working'