Schools told to 'dob in' e-scooter pupils to police

Schools in Lincolnshire are being asked to report pupils who arrive on e-scooters to the police.

Lincolnshire County Council is to write to headteachers asking them to report students riding illegally on roads, pavements and other public spaces.

It comes after a 14-year-old boy died in a crash involving his e-scooter and a van near Lincoln. Councillor Natalie Oliver said the council move would "try to prevent such tragic circumstances from happening".

Stuart Hamer, principal of Lincoln University Technical College (UTC), said: "My foremost concern is the welfare of my students and if that's dobbing them in, because that's going to get a hard message home, then that's got to be the way we go."

It is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter in public, including on pavements, on roads and in parks.

On Tuesday, an inquest opened into the death of e-scooter rider Aaron Rowe, from Lincoln, who died in a crash at North Hykeham on 6 September.

The issue was raised at a full council meeting on Friday, where Oliver, the executive member for children's services, said she would write to schools asking them to report the illegal use of e-scooters.

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Oliver said: "We've seen an increase in the usage of e-scooters and we do know that the use of them on the public highway can end up in tragic circumstances so we have got to do more to keep our children and also other road users safe.

"It might be that the headteachers aren't aware that their students are using these to get to school.

"This is about raising awareness and passing information to headteachers so that they can then share it with parents, share it with students and continue to try and prevent such tragic circumstances from happening."

She said people should report anyone illegally riding e-scooters to the police using the force's online form or by calling 101.

She said: "It's not just about headteachers reporting the use of them, this is everybody's responsibility.

"If you see an e-scooter being used illegally on the high street, please report it."

Lincoln UTC's students are aged 14 to 19 and Hamer said he had not seen any of them arrive on e-scooters or e-bikes.

"If they did, then we'd talk to them as grown adults and tell them what the rules are and what the regulations are," he said.

He said he would report pupils who illegally used e-scooters to the police to "look after the young person".

However, he said if students used the vehicles, it would probably be in their leisure time and called for more "hard-hitting" advertisements showing the consequences of illegally riding them.

Oliver said she would also be writing to central government calling for clearer rules.

"Nationally, we need the government to give clearer and more sustainable action," she said.

"We see these being sold in high street retailers so they are really readily available so we are calling on government to do more."

A government spokesperson said: "Privately owned e-scooters remain illegal on roads, pavements, and other public spaces, and we're bringing forward new laws to make their use safe."

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