Leamington police shocked as onlookers interfere as they deal with youths on e-scooters - who had been endangering pedestrians and swearing at officers

Leamington police officers were left shocked over the weekend when some members of public attempted to interfere as they dealt with youths on e-scooters who had been weaving through pedestrians, with one swearing at police and running a red light.

On Saturday afternoon (August 7) officers from the Leamington Safer Neighbourhood were called to incidents involving youths riding on e-scooters around the town.

The officers had also been told that the youths had been weaving through pedestrians as well as through traffic in the road and also ignored red traffic lights.

The Safer Neighbourhood team said that when they went to the area they spotted one e-scooter rider go through a red light while they 'gave officers a one finger gesture'

After stopping one of the riders on the Parade the officers were met with members of the public trying to interfere.

A spokesperson from Leamington Safer Neighbourhood Team said: "One of the youths was stopped on Parade and spoken to and given a stern warning about his conduct by officers.

"His parent has since also been spoken to and has been supportive and thankful for police intervention.

"We were somewhat surprised by a number of members of the public who objected to our involvement and felt the need to involve themselves in the matter.

"I understand that dealing with young people is an emotive subject but we must balance the impact on the child with the consequences that failure to act may have, which I believe in this case we have.

"It remains illegal to ride an E-scooter in any public place on a road or pavement (unless in a specific trail area) and police can seize scooters and fine riders.

"We will continue to monitor this kind of thing in Leamington town centre and the wider area and take action where appropriate."