Councillor urges council to consider balaclava restrictions

A councillor is expected to call for a clampdown on "dangerous" e-scooter riders and people wearing balaclavas in Cheshire.

Cheshire West and Chester Council's Peter Wheeler has tabled a motion to discuss face coverings, e-bikes and e-scooters at a full council meeting.

The Labour councillor will ask the council to consider restrictions on people wearing balaclavas, as has been done in Nottingham.

He has also called on the government to speed up legislation regulating e-bikes and e-scooters, as well as introducing mandatory crash helmets, insurance and licences.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Wheeler's motion would explore Nottingham City Council's use of Public Spaces Protection Orders (PSPOs) to restrict the use of face coverings.

Nottingham became one of the first cities in the UK to introduce restrictions on balaclavas, which allowed officers to ask people to remove them if they reasonably believe they are being used to commit crime or anti-social behaviour.

Anyone who refuses could face a £70 fixed penalty notice or prosecution, with courts able to impose a maximum fine of £1,000.

Councillor Wheeler said e-bikes and e-scooters had the potential to help tackle emissions and reduce the impact on the climate, but raised concerns they were being used in "dangerous" ways that posed a "risk to the safety of others".

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