Police warn of the 'menace' of balaclava-clad e-bike riders on UK's road as killer jailed

Police are highlighting the dangers of 'off road' e-bikes as a teenager is jailed today for killing a gran. Wearing a balaclava to cover his face, Billy Stokoe , 19, was riding a £4,000 Sur-Ron Light Bee X bike when he careered into Gloria Stephenson, 86. Road traffic officers encouraged people to contact them when they see e-bikes being driven dangerously on public roads. The e-bikes are lawful only on private land. When the battery and settings are modified, the off-road bike can do 0-60 mph in 6.8 seconds. Supt Billy Mulligan, who led the investigation into the death of Gloria Stephenson, said: "We are asking people to let us know if they see anyone riding a bike like that. "Most of these riders have never passed their tests, they are on Christmas and birthday present lists. "I see a lot of kids riding around with proper bike helmets on, thinking they are keeping to the law when they are not." Supt Mulligan, head of the force's Specialist/Tactical Operations, added: "You need to have passed your test and be insured. "Many kids riding around on these bikes have no idea about that. "They fly around on high-powered bikes, and members of the public mistakenly believe the riders are operating legally, making it a significant cultural issue. "You cannot legally drive that bike on public roads; they are for private land only. "The same applies to e-scooters, as they are a separate category. You need to register them and have proper insurance. "Some shops have signs indicating you can buy them but cannot ride them on the roads, making this not just an issue in our region but a national issue." Police also paid tribute to the 'unsung heroes' at the scene who tried to help Gloria as Stokoe fled on his bike. After telling him to turn himself in, his mother took him to the police station around two hours after the incident. Police had by then made public appeals to identify the rider. Supt. Mulligan explained: "We needed the press's help to identify the bike rider immediately after the incident. "Dashcams and in-car technology played a massive part in the investigation. We obtained dashcam footage from cars, buses and doorbells, which proved what happened. "There was urgency because we knew he was riding dangerously; this could have happened in any village or town within our community. "There was a lot of unsung heroism, the community supported the appeal, and members of the public checked door cameras. "The initial care provided to Gloria was critical and they did a fantastic job. "Stokoe was under the influence of a controlled substance. "He had no protective equipment and no training, this illustrates the danger these bikes pose to the community." CCTV and doorbell footage showed Stokoe 'flying around without a hand on the brake, in the middle of the day' on busy roads. Supt Mulligan added: "You see members of the public and people with prams on this footage. The risk is huge when people who commit these offences. "But we need information from the public to deal with this. We can pursue bikes, we have specially trained officers and road police teams to follow them, and we have specialist capability units. "We can follow them without them even realising by using drones and covert pursuit. "We have other options like DNA selector spray. We spray it on them when they are on the bikes and then check for it in the custody suite after they have been arrested. "But it all starts with intelligence." The force will destroy Stokoe's bike and Supt. Mulligan said they 'make no apology for that'.