PEOPLE using e-scooters illegally across West Somerset and the Wellington area are being tracked down by police using drones.

Avon and Somerset Chief Constable Sarah Crew said: “If people are using those scooters, you might not see us visible, but be assured that we are eyes in the sky.

“You may not see someone following but you may well be spotted and you will expect us to come and find you.”

E-scooters are a bizarre legal minefield.

It is legal to buy an e-scooter, but only to use on private property with the landowner’s permission.

The only e-scooters which can legally be used on the road are in council-run schemes, such as in Minehead and Taunton, which form part of a Government trial.

People also need a provisional driving licence to use an e-scooter, and they can only be used in places where a bicycle would be allowed.

Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford told Ms Crew: “One of the criticisms I get in the post box is that the police never seem to enforce the law, particularly around private e-scooters that are driven illegally on our streets.”

Ms Crew said: “Pursuing some of these vehicles, as we have seen examples in other parts of the country, can be quite hazardous for the public, for the riders, but also for the officers pursuing as well.

“So, we need other ways of knowing who is responsible to be able to deal with them and prosecute them.”

Ms Crew said police were working with manufacturers and retailers to prevent theft of e-scooters, and were circulating leaflets encouraging people to share intelligence about people using them illegally.

Meanwhile, the force’s drone team, neighbourhood teams, and road policing teams were working together on the issue as Operation Broad, which was also looking at electric mopeds, which Ms Crew warned could reach speeds of up to 55 mph.

Ms Crew said: “What the drone, in particular, has enabled us to do is to track and identify who the riders are, where they are storing the e-scooters and bikes, and do so without increasing the risk to the public by pursuing them on the ground.”

However, she said it was not just about enforcement, and police would also seek to educate people on the law around e-scooters where needed.

Chief Constable Crew said: “The most recent update we have had is that the legislation on these will not be looked at until at least 2025, so we can expect these council-run rental e-scooter schemes to continue for some time.”