E-bike hire firm Forest is fitting number plates to a third of its 1,500-strong bike fleet in Richmond, west London, in an effort to identify riders responsible for dangerous or criminal behaviour. The move follows nearly 39,000 e-bike-related incidents recorded by police forces across England over the past three years, ranging from collisions with pedestrians to drug offences, robberies, assaults and sexual offences, prompting calls for greater accountability among riders of hire bikes.

Around 500 plates, displaying the same five-digit code already used under bike QR codes, have already been fitted, with Forest saying the codes will let it quickly identify a bike and its rider if an incident is reported, and repeat offenders face being banned from hiring again. The crackdown follows high-profile cases including the hit-and-run injury of BBC broadcaster Nicky Campbell's daughter Lilla, and the death of 86-year-old Gloria Stephenson, killed by teenage rider Billy Stokoe on a Sunderland zebra crossing. Data cited show Devon & Cornwall and Dorset forces recording over 9,600 incidents in three years, while West Yorkshire Police saw a 122 per cent rise, from 1,798 incidents in 2023 to 4,001 last year, with suspects unidentified in over a third of cases.