Scunthorpe police are cracking down on illegal bikers in the town, using drones to target e-scooter and e-bike use, as well as motorcycle theft. The operation, which took place on a sunny day in Scunthorpe, saw police officers move in on three young children riding an illegal e-scooter towards a busy road. The children were so small, says PC Darian Hullett, they could 'barely see over the handlebars'. Guided by the drone, officers seized the scooter, one of five taken off the streets during the day of action. Hullett has seen the damage e-scooter crashes can cause, including serious leg and head injuries. 'We have had some fatalities in the force to do with these vehicles – they are very dangerous,' he adds. The risk to riders and the anti-social behaviour linked to illegal e-scooter and e-bike use, along with motorcycle theft, prompted the action day. It happened a week after a BBC investigation showed how young people in northern Lincolnshire were stealing motorcycles and then mocking their victims on TikTok and other social media platforms. PC Darian Hullett says efforts to combat motorcycle crime are being stepped up. 'We have hundreds of reports per year that this activity is ongoing,' he says. 'I think we've all got it in our minds that there isn't enough that goes on and this is our way of targeting that.' There has, he says, been an increase in staffing for Operation Yellowfin – a team dedicated to combatting motorcycle crime – and on this occasion colleagues are also brought in from the roads and rural policing teams to form a dedicated taskforce. In addition to the work on the south bank of the Humber, similar efforts are being made in Hull and East Yorkshire, Hullett adds. Insp Pete Musgrave, who covers the south Scunthorpe and rural neighbourhood, says the operation is part of a wider effort to tackle motorcycle crime in the area.