Man's legal e-bike seized and destroyed by police

Police officers seized and destroyed a man's £6,000 cargo bike because they wrongly thought it was an illegal electric motorbike.

The bike was actually legal and supplied by Birmingham City Council as part of a scheme to reduce pollution in the city.

Matin Zandi, the bike's owner, said he had tried to explain to the police they were wrong, adding: "We tried to convince the police officers to accept their mistake but they didn't."

West Midlands Police told the BBC officers had stopped a rider and issued a fixed penalty notice on 24 April for an offence of riding without insurance and a complaint was being reviewed.

Zandi's bike was a Tern GSD, a cargo bike designed to carry two children or a weekly shop.

It has a battery and a motor but, in line with the law, the output is limited so the motor on its own cannot move the bike faster than 15.5mph (25km/h).

Sean Farmelo from Birmingham Bike Foundry runs the rental scheme and has supplied nearly 30 people with electric cargo bikes across the city.

He said the police made a costly mistake which would have a chilling effect on people riding in Birmingham.

"Anyone that knew anything about e-bikes would know this was a Tern. It's one of the most popular e-bike brands in the country," he said.

"If people are afraid their investment is going to be crushed with no warning by the police that's not ideal."

The Tern was seized in April during a police operation targeting food delivery riders using illegal e-bikes.

These often look like a standard bicycle, but are more like electric motorbikes.

They have no limit on the output of the motor and often do not even need the rider to pedal at all.

Police tested Zandi's bike by lifting the back wheel and spinning the pedals as fast as they could, then making a note of the bike's display.

The bike was seized as it showed a speed over the limit of 15.5mph.

But the test was flawed, as all it showed was how fast police were manually able to make the wheel turn, not the power of the motor.

Bodycam footage obtained by the BBC showed Zandi explaining his motor was not doing anything while the wheel was spinning, but to no effect.

The BBC has discovered this is one of several legal bikes - and even mobility aids used by wheelchair users - that have been seized and destroyed by police in error.

Kate Ball from disabled charity Wheels for Wellbeing has called for better police education.

"They can look like an e-scooter on the front of the wheelchair, and they shouldn't be seized, the law exempts them," she said, adding: "Once something's seized, there's no mechanism to get it back."

As well as the loss of his bike, Zandi was told he faced penalty points on his licence and a fine.

He is now going to court to argue the police made a mistake with the help of Birmingham Bike Foundry, Tern and Cycling UK.

In a statement, the West Midlands force said: "We stopped a rider on 24 April in Birmingham city centre and issued a fixed penalty notice for an offence of riding without insurance.

"The rider was advised of his rights to challenge the decision in court and the bike was seized. We have since received a complaint about the seizure, and that is being reviewed."

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