Northampton man vows to 'never' ride a Voi e-scooter again after handlebars 'snapped' and caused him to smash teeth on kerb

A 30 year-old man from Northampton says he will “never” ride a Voi electric scooter again after it “snapped in half”, causing him to crash and smash his teeth on the kerb.

Ashley Potter, from Little Billing, was on the way back from picking his son up from school on Tuesday (September 20) at around 3.10pm when his scooter's handlebars “snapped” while crossing a road in Weston Favell. His son was behind him on a push bike.

The dad said: "As I got into the middle of the road the handle bar snapped. I fell to the floor, smashed my face off the kerb and smashed my teeth.

"If I was to rate the pain from one to 10, with 10 being the worst, then I would definitely say 10. I'm struggling to eat and drink, and most of that has to be done via a straw.

"My partner's worried. My kids are shocked I've got missing teeth. My oldest son has witnessed it when he was behind me on his push bike."

Ashley was taken to hospital and later sent to Bupa dental practice to have a tooth taken out because of the effects of the crash.

He said: "I've had one tooth retracted already but I think I've got another two teeth to go. It's going to cost me £2,500 a tooth to replace. Voi have got to pay for it. They screwed up."

Asked if the scooter felt faulty prior to the crash, Ashley said: "I couldn't tell you. You see kids on them messing around but normally when they get lobbed over on to a road or into a stream Voi takes them off the road. And Voi is meant to check them every time they do a battery change, they're normally quite strict on it."

Ashley says his recovery may take months and that he is now signed off from work.

He vowed: "I'm never going to use them again. Never. I think they should take them out of use completely or until Voi finds a stronger way of constructing it."

A Voi spokesman confirmed the incident and said it is currently in the process of investigating it.

The spokesman said: “Safety is our number one priority, and we take all incidents involving our riders seriously.

"We are currently in the process of investigating the incident and collecting all necessary information. This will include contacting Mr Potter (or his family) and working with our insurance team on any injury claim that may be opened.

“In regards to the e-scooter, the vehicle has been collected by our local team, and a thorough inspection will be carried out. As a standard procedure, all our vehicles go through regular e-scooter maintenance conducted by a team of experienced mechanics.”

Voi first launched the e-scooters in Northampton in September 2020 but it has since been extended to other areas of the county, including Corby, Rushden Higham Ferrers, Wellingborough and Kettering. Kettering also had e-bikes introduced into the town.

In March, West Northamptonshire Council extended the trial until November of this year.