Ref. 73000-37PEOPLE zooming around town on stand-up scooters are being warned by police that continuing to drive them on roads and paths will land them in court.

In the latest crackdown on motorised and battery-operated scooters, Swindon police are taking a zero tolerance approach to people using the machines.

Officers say that the majority of people are unaware it is illegal to use the scooters on roads and pavements.

They can only legally be used on private property.

PC Nigel Davies, who last week stopped father-of-four Wayne Webb with two of his sons on scooters, says that the gloves are coming off and officers across Swindon will no longer take the "softly softly" approach.

"We can only go so long educating people," he said.

"Before long people are going to be prosecuted. It can't keep going on like this. Someone's going to get injured.

"We will seize the scooters and crush them if people continue to use them.

"A lot of people don't seem to be clear on the law and say to me 'I didn't realise I couldn't use it on the roads'."

This is bad news for Mr Webb, a delivery worker, and his family as neither his partner nor he can drive and have been relying on the scooters for local transport.

Mr Webb's partner, who did not want to be named, said she took on three jobs and saved for months to buy the scooters for three of her four sons, Sean, 11, Andrew, eight and Jamie, five.

They cost £99 each and are electrically powered. Her partner's cost £250 from ebay and is a petrol scooter.

"We're all absolutely gutted," she said. "We're just going to have to leave them in the shed as there's nowhere we can legally use them.

"We had no idea they were illegal to use when we bought them. I wouldn't have bothered if I'd known."

She bought the three electric scooters after seeing an advert in a Sunday newspaper and says that there was no warning.

Partner Wayne, 29, said he is now warning other parents not to buy the scooters.

He said: "It's totally out of order.

"People should not be allowed to sell them if you can't use them anywhere."

According to police, advice and information given to customers by retailers is not always clear.

"We know that some scooter boxes are clearly marked with a warning that they cannot be used on the highway and we welcome that," said PC Davies.

"But there are others where no warning is apparent and, if in doubt, parents should ensure they know the position before they buy the scooter."

A spokesman for Petrol Scooters UK, one of the leading internet-based sellers of scooters, said: "All the scooters we sell are not intended for use on public roads or paths.

"They are purely for use on private land.

"We send out a form with every scooter we sell that the customer must sign and return, stating that they have been told this."

Why they cannot be used in public places

SCOOTERS whether petrol or battery-powered are classed as mopeds because they are mechanically propelled.

They can only legally be used on private property because they are not designed for, or approved for, use on the roads or footpaths.

If used on the roads they need to be insured, taxed and have an MOT as well as a number plate, brakes, lights and a horn. According to police, it is not possible for any of the scooters to satisfy all of these legal requirements.

For the average user, the scooters can only legally be used in their gardens unless they have access to a large piece of private land and have permission from the landowner to use it.

PC Lee Prince of Swindon's traffic police said: "Riders are committing a number of road traffic offences if these scooters are used on the road and there have been convictions around the UK for various related offences.

"The scooters are very popular with children but they are toys that were never designed or intended to be used on the public highway, which includes footpaths.

"They are obviously great fun for young people but they can only legally be used on private property."

The police say there have been at least two scooter-related deaths in the UK, one which involved an eight-year-old veering off the pavement into the path of an oncoming car.

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Emma-Kate Lidbury