A Nottingham man has been banned from driving after he was caught riding a rented e-scooter while over the legal limit.

The Nottingham Post reports that on March 7, just after 2am, patrolling police saw two Wind e-scooters that are part of the local trial being ridden erratically. One was carrying two people.

Officers pulled the riders over and one – 19-year-old William Gibson – recorded a positive breath test.

Only rented scooters covered by a motor vehicle insurance policy are currently street-legal in the UK. Anyone wanting to hire a Wind e-scooter must be more than 16 years old and hold at least a provisional driving licence.

Louise O'Driscoll, representing Gibson, said: "The first thing asked of the defendant was, 'did he know he was travelling on a motorised vehicle which had all the implications of travelling in a car?' and he said 'no, he did not realise'."

Gibson was arrested and taken to the Bridewell police station where a second breath test showed he had 72 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath – slightly more than double the legal limit.

Gibson, who had a clean driving licence, pleaded guilty. He was banned from driving for 18 months, fined £120 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £34 plus court costs of £85.

O’Driscoll said Gibson had concerns others would make the same mistake.

"It is not the first case we have had like this,” said the magistrate. “It is classed as a motor vehicle".

Earlier this month, Newcastle introduced an 11pm shut-off time for its e-scooter trial after five men were charged with drink driving.