Britain’s illegal e-bike boom: desperation, delivery drivers – and unthinkable danger

E-bikes can legally travel at 15.5mph. But the fastest the police have seized was capable of 70mph. What will stop the rise of these souped-up and potentially fatal vehicles?

A busy Wednesday morning on Bishopsgate in London and Sgt Stuart Ford of the City of London police is pointing out possible offenders. He's not pedalling," he says, indicating a man on a bike on the other side of the road. Still not pedalling, but he is going downhill, he might be all right. I'd still pull him over and have a look."

Not today, though, because the non-pedalling possible offender is heading north, while Ford's team - two members of the cycle response unit he set up two years ago and leads - are facing south on the opposite side of the road. A lot of the unit's work centres on illegal e-bikes; they have seized 212 so far this year.