Madrid has ordered electric scooters off the city's streets within 72 hours amid claims they are a public nuisance and just days after a 90-year-old pedestrian was killed in a collision.

The council told the three main e-scooter companies operating in the Spanish capital - Lime, Wind and VOI - that their apps do not abide by rules that restrict the vehicles to bicycle lanes and single-lane streets where the speed limit is 30kmh.

“They were given a deadline and told that to continue they had to fulfill a series of conditions, including avoiding agglomerations and that the start and end of rides must take place in permitted areas,” said Inés Sabanés, Madrid city environment and mobility coordinator.

Madrid's ban forms part of a global push-back against the whizzy two-wheeled devices that has seen them cleared from parts of Los Angeles and other US cities.

The three-companies began operating in Madrid before any regulations were in place, starting with Lime in the summer. The council says it told them that they must adjust their scooters’ apps to ensure they were used in appropriate areas and not left to block pavements.

Ms Sabanés said that the council would remove any scooters belonging to the three companies once the three-day warning period had elapsed.