POLICE in Thanet are reminding owners of mini-motorbikes to keep them off the road or end up in court - or even hospital.

The warning comes after a Broadstairs man was fined nearly £200 by magistrates after being convicted of riding a mini-motorbike on the road.

In a separate incident, a Margate man ended up with serious injuries after his mini-motorbike collided with a car.

Thomas Waeling, 20, of St Peters Road, Broadstairs admitted to magistrates that he had ridden his black mini-motorbike at night time on Broadstairs Road, Broadstairs, on July 9 with no lights, reflectors or tread pattern on his tyres. He also admitted having no insurance, no motorcycle licence and no helmet.

The magistrates fined Waeling a total of £193 and added six points to his car driving licence.

PC Dave Towner, the officer in charge of the case, said Waeling’s actions were dangerous, not only for him but also for other people.

The officer addedd: “As it was night time, and he didn’t have any lights or reflectors on his mini-moto, it would have been hard for other motorists to see him or for Mr Waeling to see where he was going.

“Luckily his riding experience didn’t end in tragedy with him being hit by a car or him hitting a pedestrian.”

However, a 19-year-old Margate man was not so lucky when the mini-motorbike he was riding collided with a car on Ramsgate Road, near Ulster Road, Margate, on July 2, leaving him in hospital with serious head, arm and leg injuries.

PC Towner said the riding of mini-motorbikes on roads and public places without the proper equipment and authorities is an ongoing problem in Thanet, and officers are no longer taking a lenient approach to offenders.

Until recently officers have tended to advise and warn people riding the bikes on the road or in public places rather than prosecute them because the mini-motorbikes were new to the market and a lot of people did not realise the rules.

However, owners have had plenty of time to learn about the rules and officers are taking a firmer stance on those caught breaking the law.

PC Towner said that for a mini-motorbike to be used on the road it had to have a road tax disc, insurance and be road legal (i.e. lights for night time, reflectors, treaded tyres and a horn), while the rider needed to wear a helmet and be licensed.

In many cases mini-motorbikes do not fit that description, and they have been given as presents to under 16-year-olds who can’t hold motorbike licences.

“These bikes have electric or petrol engines in them that can, in some cases, push them along at up to 40mph. The engines are too powerful for the bikes to be considered toys, and they aren’t pushbikes with power assistance either,” he said.

“These bikes are motorbikes, and as such they need licences, road tax, helmets and insurance. However, people have been riding these motorbikes on roads and public areas all over Thanet with none of them.”

Under new powers added to the Road Traffic Act 1988 that came into force on July 6, police officers have the power to seize and have destroyed uninsured vehicles, including mini-motorbikes.

PC Towner said that if officers do seize a bike, they must pay for the initial haulage of £105 plus £12 a day storage, regardless of whether the bike is returned to the owner or destroyed.

“This is on top of any court fines that may be imposed for riding a mini-motorbike on the road, and then there is also the cost of the bike itself if it is destroyed, so it becomes a very expensive experience for the owners,” he said.

The only place that mini-motorbikes can be used lawfully is on private land, such as farms or in backyards.