Lime bikes dumped in canals

HUNDREDS OF LIME e-bikes have been dumped in canals since hire schemes were introduced across England.

These are raising concerns about pollution and flooding with Canal & River Trust telling it is a national problem, Roger Fox reports.

The trust is having to spend thousands of pounds retrieving the bikes from its waterways.

For some reason it seems that Nottingham is a particular hot-spot, with up to nine Lime bikes pulled from the canal each week.

However, Lime, the US company that runs the hire scheme in Nottingham and other cities, told it is working with various authorities to solve the problem.

The Environment Agency tell that, electric bikes pose a pollution risk because the batteries contain substances that can enter a watercourse if they remain submerged in water.

The Canal & River Trust's national towpath advisor, Dick Vincent, explains: 

"Whilst the quantities are a concern, and this is a drain on our resources, it's worth remembering one bike alone can easily cause thousands of pounds worth of damage to a boat, tens of thousands of pounds of damage to canal infrastructure, and an incalculable value of damage to wildlife." 

The trust have contacted Lime, but it is ignoring this dumping as a problem.