POLICE seized an illegal e-scooter during an overnight patrol in Amesbury after stopping a rider on a busy town road.

Officers from the Amesbury Neighbourhood Policing Team were on a marked vehicle patrol during the early hours of Wednesday (March 11) when they spotted the privately owned e-scooter being ridden along Porton Road.

The rider was stopped and the scooter was seized under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for having no insurance.

Police confirmed the rider was given words of advice about the rules surrounding e-scooter use, but the vehicle will now be destroyed.

Officers say they continue to receive complaints from residents about the dangerous use of privately owned e-scooters in the area.

Under UK law, privately owned e-scooters are classed as motor vehicles.

Because it is currently not possible to obtain insurance for them, they cannot legally be used on public roads or in public places.

That means riding them on streets, pavements, parks or through shopping areas is illegal.

Police also warned riders that if an e-scooter or e-motorbike is involved in a serious collision, the incident will be investigated in the same way as if a car or motorcycle had been involved.

Privately owned e-scooters can only be used on private land, such as in a garden, and only with the permission of the landowner.

Neighbourhood officers say they will continue to patrol the area and act where illegal or dangerous use of e-scooters is identified.