Police seizures of illegally modified electric bikes (e-bikes) soared in parts of the North East the past year amid concerns their speed and weight present a lethal threat to pedestrians, an investigation has found.

Forces across the UK confiscated 937 e-bikes in the year to August 11, according to Freedom of Information (FoI) figures obtained by the PA news agency.

That is compared with 511 during the previous 12 months. Among the forces Among the forces with the largest year-on-year increases in e-bike seizures were Northumbria Police (from 18 to 58).

Others included Wiltshire Police (from 24 to 64), Police Scotland (from 60 to 233), Derbyshire Police (from four to 23), and South Wales Police (from 66 to 137).

Under UK law, e-bike motors must cut out when a speed of 15.5mph is reached.

But police are increasingly finding many have been modified to reach much faster speeds.

It is also common for officers to find e-bikes that can be powered without the pedals being turned, effectively making them electric mopeds or motorbikes which must be registered and taxed.

Conversion kits are available online for as little as £300.

City of London Police recently seized an e-bike capable of reaching 70mph, which featured an electronic display indicating it had covered more than 6,000 miles.

During another operation outside London Liverpool Street railway station earlier this month, it took officers just minutes to catch a rider using an illegal e-bike.

The e-bike had a motor with a maximum power output was 500 watts – twice the legal limit – as well as severely worn-out tyres and a bundle of loose electric wires stored in a soaking-wet pouch.

An officer at the scene described it as “a death trap”, adding: “This could easily kill him or someone else.”

No action was taken against the rider – a food delivery worker – but his e-bike was confiscated and will likely be destroyed.

Twenty-seven out of 46 police forces provided data in response to PA’s Freedom of Information requests.

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Some forces said their figures related to all e-bike seizures, while others specified their statistics were for illegal e-bikes.

The overall 83% rise in e-bike confiscations suggested by the investigation underplays the true scale of the surge, as some forces did not provide comparable figures.

These include City of London, which alone confiscated 295 in the year to August 11 – more than all other forces that provided data – but could not issue a total for the previous 12 months.