It is illegal to use e-scooters on public roads unless they are rented as part of a government-approved scheme.

Derby City Council ran an e-scooter trial scheme that legalized the use of some e-scooters but this was halted in January after an American company withdrew.

In the last two years, police said it had received 509 calls about anti-social behavior on e-scooters and 441 reports of them being used dangerously.

Supt James Thompson said officers had “taken a pragmatic approach of warning people they were breaking the law” as there was “the potential for confusion due to the trial schedule in Derby”.

“Since the trial was stopped earlier this year, that confusion has also ended and if you are using an e-scooter in a public place then you are committing an offence,” he said.

E-scooter safety campaigner Sarah Gayton, from the UK’s National Federation of the Blind, welcomed the force’s new stance and added that it should regularly publish data to show whether the new approach was working.

“We hope other police forces will also be inspired to take this action,” he said.

“E-scooter drivers are scaring pedestrians.

“There are still a lot of hidden dangers of people getting hurt and things not being reported.”