// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
Balaclava boys on electric bikes: How to tackle the problem?
A member of the public posted this image of young men in the Pentland Hills after witnessing a horse being spooked
From the Pentland Hills near Edinburgh to the streets of the country's biggest cities, a common menace is causing irritation, alarm and in some cases even death.
The sight of young men, their identities hidden by black balaclavas, tearing around on electric bikes or scooters is becoming a familiar one.
The picture above was taken by a man who posted on social media about "morons on electric bikes" scaring a nearby horse, external as they rode illegally on public footpaths.
Aside from being showered with gravel churned up by the "gobby" miscreants, no one came to harm that day, but others have not been so lucky.
Warning: Contains distressing scenes. Dashcam footage shows the aftermath of the crash that killed a pedestrian in Sunderland
Earlier this year, a court was shown distressing dashcam footage of the moment a masked 18-year-old on an electric motorbike ploughed into a woman on a pedestrian crossing in Sunderland.
Gloria Stephenson, 86, died at the scene. The rider - Billy Stokoe, who had taken cannabis and was using his mobile at the time of the crash - was jailed for more than six years for causing death by dangerous driving.
Few would dispute that illegal e-bikes and scooters are a growing problem, but what can be done about it? Here are some of the options.
The term e-bike is often used loosely to cover a range of different vehicles.