Man arrested after police officer suffers broken leg in e-scooter collision

A man has been arrested after a police officer suffered a broken leg when he was involved in a collision with an e-scooter in north London.

Officers were undertaking a pre-planned operation to target illegal use of e-scooters in Willesden High Road at around 1pm on Saturday when the incident took place.

Officers asked a male riding an e-scooter to stop but he failed to do so.

The e-scooter then collided with a police officer, knocking him to the floor.

The officer was treated at the scene before being taken to hospital with a broken leg and concussion.

A 22-year-old man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of section 18 grievous bodily harm, assault on an emergency worker, obstructing a drugs search, failure to stop, dangerous driving, driving without a licence or insurance, breaching the terms of a prison sentence and being unlawfully at large.

Inspector Martin Robbie said: “Officers put themselves in the face of danger on a daily basis and an incident like this demonstrates this.

“I would like to remind the public that the use of e-scooters, unless subject to a government approved scheme, is prohibited and use upon public highways and spaces will be subject to enforcement and potential seizure of the e-scooter.”

E-scooters can be used on roads, in cycle lanes and on cycle paths, but are banned from being ridden on pavements.

Private e-scooters can only legally be used in the UK on private land but are a common sight on roads and pavements.

Last month, the Metropolitan Police said they had seized 507 private e-scooters over seven days.

Around 1,200 e-scooters are available to rent in the capital across nine boroughs.