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The deployment of a police plane over Newport has paid dividends for officers clamping down on illegal electric bikes and scooters, city councillors have heard.

The plane, part of the National Police Air Service fleet, was spotted on operations over the city on Tuesday September 2.

It spent “between five and six hours” circling over parts of Newport that day, in what has been called “a really good use of modern-day technology” to assist officers on the ground.

Temporary chief superintendent Jason White, Gwent Police’s head of neighbourhood, added the plane was used “to really good effect” to target illegal e-bikes and e-scooters.

Currently, the law prohibits the riding of e-scooters, and e-bikes which are not pedal-assisted or which exceed a certain wattage, on public roads and land.

Speaking at a city council meeting, Ch Supt White said the plane’s deployment had led to “some excellent arrests” on the ground.

The eye in the sky has also provided ongoing intelligence for officers to follow-up on, he added.

“What the plane also gave us – not just that day but the subsequent days and weeks – is the ability to capture other people using [illegal] bikes, where they then noticed where they were residing, so the team… was then going retrospectively to those houses and seizing those bikes,” he explained.

Earlier this year, Gwent Police deployed drones to follow a group of bikers through the Alway and Ringland neighbourhoods, eventually seizing one of the bikes.

Speaking at this week’s meeting, city council leader Cllr Dimitri Batrouni said the use of aerial surveillance was “making a real impact” on tracking illegal e-bike and e-scooter riders.

“I’m sure all of us will hear residents talk about those bikes – youths on those bikes with hoods and masks going around the city basically and making people feel intimidated,” he told those in the council chamber.

In the wake of the September 2 operation, Gwent Police neighbourhood inspector Roland Giles said he wanted to “reassure residents that we’re listening to your concerns and are acutely aware of the impact that the illegal use of off-road bikes can have on our communities”.

He added: “We need to know when and where these bikes are being used, and also where they are being stored so that we can seize the machines being driven illegally.”

Anyone with concerns about off-road bikes or the sale and supply of illegal drugs in their area can contact Gwent Police via the force’s website, by calling 101, or sending the force a direct message on its Facebook or X social media pages.

Alternatively, you can contact Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111 with information.