MORE people were injured in e-scooter crashes in North Yorkshire last year, new figures show.

And police officers in the area said they have seen several instances where they have been used in an "antisocial and dangerous" way.

Department for Transport figures show nine casualties were recorded by North Yorkshire Police last year. This was up from four in 2021 and an increase from one casualty two years prior.

North Yorkshire follows the overall trend across Great Britain where there is an ever-rising number of e-scooter casualties. Last year there was a total of 1,458 casualties involving e-scooters – up slightly from 1,434 in 2021 and a leap from 484 in 2020.

Speaking on the figures, a spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "Across North Yorkshire there has been an increase in the use of e-scooters. Although they are fun to use and carry some benefits, we have seen several instances where they have been used in an antisocial and dangerous way.

“E-scooters fall under the Road Traffic Act 1988 which means they are classed as motor vehicles. Therefore the same rules apply to e-scooters that apply to motor vehicles and this includes the need to have a licence and insurance.

“We advise anyone thinking of buying one to know exactly where they can be used legally and be aware that if you use it unlawfully, you risk the vehicle being seized under Section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 for no insurance."

Trials of rental e-scooters on roads in dozens of towns and cities across England are ongoing - including in York.

Bosses from TIER, which runs the scheme in which people can hire e-scooters and e-bikes in York, said the figures point out that there is a high number of unsafe privately owned e-scooters being used illegally on UK streets.

Jessica Hall, head of public policy for the UK at TIER, said: "Unfortunately these can be dangerous for riders and the public. We support calls for the Government to introduce e-scooter regulation to help tackle this issue.

"TIER has run a shared e-scooter service in York since 2020. In that time we have recorded nearly 400,000 trips which have reduced people’s reliance on their cars for short journeys in the city.

"Our e-scooters are speed limited to 12.5 miles per hour and riders must prove they are over the age of 18 before being allowed to rent one.

"Safety is our top priority and we provide in-app training as well as free e-scooter training sessions. We also work closely with the police to tackle anti-social riding behaviours.

"We are proud of our safety record, our rate of incidents is less than one per 10,000 trips and we have not had a single incident involving a pedestrian."