London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, May 13, 2026

Dad woke up to find more than 100 e-scooters piled up outside his house

Dad woke up to find more than 100 e-scooters piled up outside his house

A retired man was stunned to wake up and find more than 100 e-scooters left outside his Bristol house this weekend.

Shane Clarke came home on Friday evening to see a number of e-scooter piled up outside his property.

But by Saturday morning, his family were greeted by even more in the leafy suburban street, after the area was made an official parking spot.

The retired medic said people have for a while been leaving some Voi scooters outside his house at the top of Elm Lane.

He suspects other locations may have been removed from the list of designated parking spots listed on an official app.

Mr Clarke, 60, says it has left his house – where he lives with his wife and son – as the only place to park the devices in the area – and says he counted over 100.

He explained: ‘We lost count at one point so we might have broken the hundred mark.

Mr Clarke’s wife says she saw an elderly resident trip over a scooter


‘What would be really helpful is if somebody had said “sorry about this, we’ll work on it”.

‘The sub-contractors who came to collect them said “bloody hell we’ve not seen anything like this”.’

His wife, who did not want to be named, said she saw an elderly local resident trip over one of the scooters and that they found a couple of cans and bottles discarded in their front garden.

The scooters have since been cleared by the council from outside the home – which is near a large local park.

Voi scooters can be rented in Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire thanks to a trial by the West of England Combined Authority.

The issue is thought to have occurred after other official parking areas were removed from an app

The e-scooters are part of a trial scheme in the West of England


It uses an app to geo-tag scooters, which means they will only operate in certain zones, and at limited speeds.

Users have to park them in designated areas or face a fine – and only adults with a driving licence are allowed to hire them.

Mr Clarke stressed that he has no issues with the trial itself, but believes the way that they are stored should be changed.

He explained: ‘From my point of view I have no problem at all with the scooters apart from the obvious – sometimes they’re not ridden responsibly.

‘Talking to other hirers, they’re asking: “where is the alternative nearest parking space?”

‘They’re saying this is the most convenient spot.

‘As they’re supposed to be on road – if we’re going to go ahead with the experiment it would make sense for them to be somewhere with space around them.

‘Or alternatively, give over parking spaces for them… But I guess that would be a whole other debate as to whether residents would be happy with that.’

The Government trial scheme has now been going for more than five months.

While privately-owned scooters are still illegal to use on public roads and pavements, the scheme has been launched to see how well they mix on the region’s roads.

Richard Corbett, the Regional General Manager of Voi UK & Ireland, previously told ITV News West Country: ‘E-scooters are here to really solve the transport challenge that we have in the UK.

‘We need to find an alternative form of transport to riding by car – 50 per cent of nitrogen dioxide in our atmosphere is from road transport.’

The parking issue comes as a rise in crime has been linked to areas trialling the initiative.

Bristol Council has been approached for comment.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
The Great Western Exit: Why Best Citizens Are Fleeing the Rich World [PODCAST]
The New Robber Barons of Intelligence: Are AI Bosses More Powerful Than Rockefeller?
The End of the Old Order [Podcast]
Britain’s Democracy Is Now a Costume
The AI Gold Rush Is Coming for America’s Last Open Spaces [Podcast]
The Pentagon’s AI Squeeze: Eight Tech Giants Get In, Anthropic Gets Shut Out [Podcast]
The War Map: Professor Jiang’s Dark Theory of Iran, Trump, China, Russia, Israel, and the Coming Global Shock [Podcast]
Labour Is No Longer a National Party [Podcast]
AI Isn’t Stealing Your Job. It’s Dismantling It Piece by Piece.
Lawyers vs Engineers: Why China Builds While America Litigates [Podcast]
Churchill’s Glass: The Drunk, the Doctor, and the Myth Britain Refuses to Sober Up From
Apple issues an unusual warning: this is how your iPhone can be hacked without you doing anything
Kennedy’s Quiet War on Antidepressants Sparks Alarm Across America’s Medical Establishment
The Met Gala Meets the Age of Billionaire Backlash
Russian Oligarch’s Superyacht Crosses Hormuz via Iran-Controlled Route
Gunfire Disrupts White House Correspondents’ Dinner as Trump Is Evacuated
A Leak, a King, and a Fracturing Alliance
Inside the Gates Foundation Turmoil: Layoffs, Scrutiny, and the Cost of Reputational Risk
UK Biobank Breach Exposes Health Data of 500,000, Listed for Sale on Chinese Platform
KPMG Cuts Around 10% of US Audit Partners After Failed Exit Push
French Police Probe Suspected Weather-Data Tampering After Unusual Polymarket Bets on Paris Temperatures
CATL Unveils Revolutionary EV Battery Tech: 1000 km Range and 7-Minute Charging Ahead of Beijing Auto Show
Crypto Scammers Capitalize on Maritime Chaos Near the Strait of Hormuz: A Rising Threat to Shipping Companies
Changi Airport: How Singapore Engineered the World’s Most Efficient Travel Experience
Power Dynamics: Apple’s Leadership Shakeup, Geopolitical Risks in the Strait of Hormuz, and Europe's Energy Strategy Amidst Global Challenges
Apple's Leadership Transition: Can New CEO John Ternus Navigate AI Challenges and Geopolitical Pressures?
Italy’s €100K Tax Gambit: Europe’s Soft Power Tax Haven
News Roundup
Microsoft lost 2.5 millions users (French government) to Linux
Privacy Problems in Microsoft Windows OS
News roundup
Péter András Magyar and the Strategic Reset of Hungary
Hungary After the Landslide — A Strategic Reset in Europe
Meghan Markle Plans Exclusive Women-Focused Retreat During Australia Visit
Starmer and Trump Hold Strategic Talks on Securing Strait of Hormuz Amid Rising Tensions
Unofficial Australia Visit by Prince Harry and Meghan Expected to Stir Tensions with Royal Circles
Pipeline Attack Cuts Significant Share of Saudi Arabia’s Oil Export Capacity
UK Stocks Rise on Ceasefire Momentum and Renewed Focus on Diplomacy
UK to Hold Further Strategic Talks on Strait of Hormuz Security
Starmer Voices Frustration as Global Tensions Drive Up UK Energy Costs
UK Students Voice Concern Over Proposal for Automatic Military Draft Registration
Rising Volatility Drives Uncertainty in UK Fuel and Petrol Prices
UK Moves to Deploy ‘Skyhammer’ Anti-Drone System to Strengthen Airspace Defense
New Analysis Explores UK Budget Mechanics in ‘Behind the Blue’ Feature
Man Arrested After Four Die in Channel Crossing Tragedy
UK Tightens Immigration Framework with New Sponsor Rules and Fee Increases
UK Foreign Secretary Highlights Impact of Intensified Strikes in Lebanon
UK Urges Inclusion of Lebanon in US-Iran Ceasefire Framework
UK Stocks Ease as Ceasefire Doubts in Middle East Weigh on Investor Confidence
UK Reassesses Cloud Strategy Amid Criticism Over Limited Support Measures
×