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All of Derby’s ebikes are being taken off the roads because vandals repeatedly target and destroy them, Derby City Council has announced.

Criminals have used hammers and even angle grinders to destroy the control panel on dozens of bikes.

Now two thirds of the 200 original bikes across the city have been rendered unusable or stolen.

Of those 133, 15 have gone missing and 118 are currently awaiting repairs.

Although the scheme was first introduced in June 2018 with no major issues, the “systematic vandalism” suddenly escalated to alarming levels from March 30.

As a result, the council has said it is returning the remaining bikes to storage while officials think about how the scheme will look in the future.

A spokesperson said: “At present there are not enough ebikes available to provide a useable network for customers and it is with regret that the ebikes Derby scheme will be suspended with immediate effect.”

(Image: Derby Telegraph)

Councillor Jonathan Smale, cabinet member for communities, neighbourhoods and Streetpride, said: “Before the surge, usage was very good and the vandalism was manageable.

“With a scheme of this type, there will always be a degree of misuse and damage, but this new spate of vandalism has seen these individuals purposefully and aggressively targeting the cycle’s digital control panels with extreme force.

“In some cases they are using hammers and angle grinders to remove them.

“It is very disappointing that such a successful and highly demanded scheme, that has been put in place to help local people get around the city and be more active, is being put at risk by a small number of people intent on its destruction.

“It is very hard to understand why anybody would want to ruin an initiative designed only to benefit the community.”

Since it began, the scheme has seen over 7,000 riders travel nearly 150,000 miles - a great achievement, says the council.

The 30 hubs scattered across the city will remain in place, but will function as normal bike rails.

Asked whether the ebike scheme would come back, Mr Smale said: “That’s a conversation we are having now. We are working with the police and working with our partners to see what the best way forward is.”

Mr Smale added: “Looking at the amount of riders we had and how many miles they have travelled shows what a success they have been.

“The scheme had cross-party support and it was universally accepted by every party. It has been fantastic.”

The bike scheme is operated by Hourbike.

Tim Caswell, owner of Hourbike, said: “It is with great regret that we announce the temporary closure of ebikes Derby.

"We would like to offer a huge thank you to our loyal riders who have used the scheme responsibly and regularly.

(Image: Derby Telegraph)

“For you, we very much hope to re-open Derby’s electric bikeshare to full working order very soon.”

The ebike scheme was unveiled in September 2017 and officially launched in June 2018.

It was funded by a £450,000 funding bid from the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership and a £100,000 cash injection from the University of Derby.

Carl Longworth, director of estates at the university, said: “We are very disappointed with these acts of vandalism which are putting into jeopardy the survival of the successful bikeshare scheme, which is very well-used and very popular with our students.

“This temporary suspension will enable the operator, the council and the university to consider all possible options to ensure the continued success of eBikes Derby.”

Derbyshire Live checked the eBikes live map six times over three days at different times – 8am, 8.25am, 10am, 12.50pm, 1.30pm and 3pm.

In every instance, hubs with no bikes in them outnumbered hubs with at least one bike in them.

At one point, at 10am on Tuesday, June 4, only two hubs in the whole city had bikes in them, and the other 27 hubs were completely empty.

Derbyshire police confirmed that they are working with the city council to bring the offenders to justice.

The asked anyone with information about who might be doing this to contact them on 101 or anonymously on Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.

People can also report information to the force's Facebook , Twitter or their website.

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