A 15-YEAR-OLD boy has been handed six penalty points and fined for using an electric scooter without insurance and a licence.

The teenager from Halifax, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to two offences at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates' Court last Monday (March 21).

These were: using a motor vehicle on a road or public place without third party insurance and driving a motor vehicle otherwise than in accordance with a licence.

It was in relation to January 23 this year when the teenager was using an electric scooter on Rugby Terrace, in the Ovenden area of Halifax.

The 15-year-old did not have insurance or a licence to be doing so. 

Privately owned e-scooters are classed as "powered transporters" in law and can only be used on private land.

It is an offence to ride one on the pavement or footpaths, with special legal exceptions made for mobility scooters and wheelchairs.

Technically you can use an e-scooter on the road, but you must comply with all regulations car users abide by - such as, being insured, paying vehicle tax and having a full or provisional driving licence.

The teenager was sentenced on the same day he pleaded guilty.

He was given six penalty points on his driving record and ordered to pay £187 to the courts.

This included a fine of £80, a £22 surcharge to fund victim services and £85 for costs. 

The total balance must be paid by a parent or guardian by May 31.

The 15-year-old's guilty plea was taken into consideration when sentencing.

It is not the first time someone in Yorkshire has fallen foul of using an electric scooter illegally.

Nearly £4,000 in fines were handed out to people using the powered vehicles in Bradford, or who were tried at the city's courts, in the last six months or so.

Meanwhile a 21-year-old man was banned from driving for almost two years after using an electric scooter in York while being over triple the drink-driving limit.