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Beer bike seized by police
Police in the Scottish capital of Edinburgh seized a pedal-powered beer bike on Saturday morning “following safety concerns and road traffic offences”.
Officers from the Leith Community Policing Team stopped and seized a beer bike on Leith Walk, around 11.20am on Saturday, 16 March, 2024, following safety concerns and road traffic offences. We are aware of ongoing community concerns and further enquiries are ongoing.#NECPT pic.twitter.com/y7UQu6M8rL
— Police Scotland North East Edinburgh (@PSOSNEEdinburgh) March 16, 2024
The incident saw officers from the Leith Community Policing Team seize the vehicle just before midday. The exact nature of the traffic offences committed by the riders of the beer bike has not been disclosed yet, and there is no information currently on what happened to them.
Beer bikes, also known as party bikes and bar bikes, are vehicles that carry multiple people (in the case of the one seized, five each side) who drink beer while pedalling. They can be seen in various European cities, and are particularly popular for Stag Dos and other such occasions that combine sightseeing with drinking to excess.
As can be seen on the image shared of the bike seized, the model is a Het Fietscafe, the Dutch brand that invented the concept in the late 1990s.
Though the company that owns the bike that has been seized has not yet been revealed, one operator of beer bikes in Edinburgh charges £450 for an hour-long ride with “as-much-as-you-can-drink beer” and, crucially, a sober guide/driver to keep the vehicle on the straight and narrow. Whether the beer bike seized on Leith Walk actually had such a guide when the incident occurred is also currently unclear, though the image does show the steering wheel they would use.
Other optional extras for the aforementioned Edinburgh beer bike experience include two bottles of Champagne (£110), a ‘pretty waitress’ (£50), and crisps (£25).
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