Man made to pay more than £200 for stealing two Voi e-scooters and removing GPS trackers

A south Bristol man has been ordered to pay more than £200 after pleading guilty to stealing two Voi e-scooters.

Ashley Hoskin, 26, of south Bristol, appeared before Bristol Magistrates’ Court on January 27, admitting to taking a motor vehicle without the owner’s consent. Hoskin had appeared in the Magistrates Court earlier that week, on January 23, and was found guilty of being in charge of two dangerous dogs who were out of control.

Police seized two Voi scooters from Hoskin’s home last June. Both scooters had been vandalised and the GPS tracking on them no longer worked. Magistrates imposed a £120 fine and ordered Hoskin to pay £85 costs and a £34 surcharge.

Matthew Pencharz, head of policy for Voi UK, Ireland and Netherlands, said: “Most people use our scooters correctly and park them properly at the end of their rides. However, we will support the prosecution of anyone who vandalises and/or steals our scooters. We’d ask anyone who spots a Voi scooter they believe has been stolen or abandoned to contact us through the Voi app or on our website, report.voi.com.”

Last year, a rental bike service by Big Issue was forced to be scrapped due to Extensive and relentless levels of vandalism’. Organisers claimed that its 200-strong fleet of e-bikes was being vandalised every two weeks - adding “we have more e-bikes destroyed in Bristol in one week than in all our facilities combined anywhere else in the world.”

Hoskins is due back in court on March 13 when a decision will be made on a destruction order for his two American Pitbulls which had attacked two friends during their walk in Dundry. Hoskins admitted he did not check whether his garden was closed before letting the dogs outside and they ran out.

After being attacked, the two men dashed through a bramble bush to climb atop a garden fence to escape the dogs, who followed the men and circled below waiting. A short video was taken and shared to social media by one of the men showcasing the puncture wounds to their calves and arms - this was shared hundreds of times across social media.