Anger and fear over ‘dangerous’ illegal e-motorbike riders

Electric Motorbikes Turn English Town Streets into Unpredictable Hazards

Constantvpn.com – Across parts of southern England, residents are reporting that packs of riders on high-powered electric motorbikes have turned ordinary pavements, village lanes, and even motorway carriageways into zones of fear. The vehicles — often unregistered, sometimes carrying two people — zip through residential areas at speed, performing wheelies, swerving between cars, and aiming directly at pedestrians. For many locals, the experience has shifted from annoyance to genuine dread.

A Walk That Nearly Ended in Impact

Britt, a resident of Burgess Hill in West Sussex, was out walking with her partner when two separate groups of e-motorbike riders came barreling down the centre of the pavement toward them. She describes having to physically shove her partner aside to avoid a direct collision.

“As we were walking, there were two groups of bikes coming down the pavement. They rode straight down the middle of it. They were aiming at us, to the point where I had to push him out of the way because they were just going to hit him.”

Britt says such encounters are routine in her area. Riders arrive in groups of four or more, swerving through traffic, shouting to one another, and occasionally mounting two people on a single machine. She has watched elderly women sprinting to escape and small children being deliberately targeted by riders who treat footpaths as racetracks.

“I’ve seen little old ladies have to run. I’ve seen little kids being aimed at.”

Her fear extends beyond collisions. The face coverings many riders wear — balaclavas that conceal identity — combined with the near-silent acceleration of electric drivetrains, raise the prospect that these machines could become tools of street crime.

“If it continues to grow, I’m genuinely concerned that we could be walking and come across a bike and someone on that bike could be carrying a knife. They could try and mug you. They could do anything.”

Local Officials Feel the Threat Firsthand

Deputy mayor David Eggleton has documented the behaviour on his phone, capturing riders executing wheelies in the middle of streets, travelling on the wrong side of the carriageway, and wearing full face coverings while doing so. He says the footage itself was frightening to record.

“Never mind the residents being intimidated. I was intimidated when I took that footage. I thought they were going to come back to get me.”

Eggleton’s account underscores a point that residents keep raising: the riders do not appear to regard local authority or community norms as constraints. The anonymity of masked faces and the speed of machines capable of rapid acceleration make accountability difficult for ordinary citizens.

Near Miss in a Narrow Alleyway

Near a local football ground, Simon was walking through a tight passage close to the railway station when two masked riders crashed past at speed. He estimates they were no older than fourteen or fifteen.

“It’s a narrow path, you don’t really have any room to get out of the way, and then all of a sudden there was a rush of movement behind. Two lads came crashing past.”

The woman accompanying him had to dive to one side to avoid being struck. Simon highlights a particular danger unique to electric machines: their near-total silence means pedestrians receive no auditory warning until the vehicle is already alongside them.

A Tragedy in Sunderland

For some families, the threat has become fatal. In May 2025, Gloria Stephenson, aged 86, was struck and killed while crossing a zebra crossing in Sunderland. The rider, Billy Stokoe, was on an illegal and defective Sur-Ron electric motorbike at the time of the collision. The incident became a national talking point about the regulatory gap surrounding unregistered electric two-wheelers on public roads.

Chased, Flung, and Left Behind

Taylor, 20, also from Burgess Hill, was riding his legally registered motorbike to work on a routine Monday morning around eleven o’clock when he overtook two e-motorbikes pulling out from a junction. One rider began performing wheelies and blocking traffic; the other pursued him down the road.

“The other one chased me down. Before you know it, I’m on the side of the road. I went flying.”

Dashcam footage captured the moment of impact and the riders departing the scene while Taylor lay injured mere metres away. An ambulance transported him on a stretcher fitted with a pelvic brace. Although his physical wounds have healed, the psychological aftermath has persisted. He says he can no longer watch social-media clips of e-motorbike riders without feeling physically unwell, and his own bike remains unrepaired.

“All the videos on social media of people riding their bikes, I couldn’t watch anymore. They’d make me feel ill. I couldn’t even look at it.”

Government and Police Response

The UK government has introduced new statutory powers enabling police to seize vehicles being used anti-socially without first issuing a formal warning. Sussex Police has stated it will continue to take enforcement action against anyone found riding e-bikes or e-scooters illegally. Riders have also been filmed using the M2 motorway, a route where electric two-wheelers are not permitted.

The regulatory landscape for electric two-wheelers in England remains fragmented. Unlike conventional motorbikes, many e-motorbikes sold online fall into a grey area: they may lack type approval, insurance, or roadworthiness certification, yet their performance rivals that of small petrol motorcycles. Until clearer classification and enforcement catch up with the market, residents in towns from West Sussex to Tyne and Wear will continue to face the prospect of silent, masked machines appearing without warning on their streets.