You could soon be able to rent and legally ride e-scooters in High Wycombe and Aylesbury as part of a trial.

The 12-month trial, which Buckinghamshire Council is currently applying for, would see e-scooters rented out with speed restrictions of 15mph.

Areas of high traffic could also see the speed restricted even further using 'geo-fencing' technology.

This technology would also control the routes the scooters could take, restricting them to local roads, cycleways and shared cycle-footpaths.

The scooters would not be allowed on major roads or pavements and only the rental scooters would be legal to use during the trial period.

Anyone wanting to use one would have to have a provisional driving license, register their details and view and online training programme before they can use it.

The trial would be one of a number approved by the Department for Transport with data collected to decide whether they could be used legally more widely across the UK.

Buckinghamshire Council says it is working with Thames Valley Police, Aylesbury Garden Town, disability groups and other interested parties in preparing for the trial and monitoring it if it goes ahead.

Despite fears about how safe e-scooters are, a study by the International Transport Federation published in February this year found that in urban areas, e-scooters were safer than cars or motorcycles.

Transport chief Cllr Nick Naylor said: "During the coronavirus pandemic we have seen a significant reduction in car usage and consequent improvements in air quality, particularly in our town centres.

"Many more people have taken to ‘active travel’ – primarily walking and cycling – as part of their regular exercise but, with restrictions on the use of public transport many are continuing to look at other ways to travel locally for work, shopping or leisure trips and we need to look at other sustainable, socially distanced, modes of transport.

"E-scooters and other forms of micro-transport are becoming part of the street scene in many different parts of the world and it is right that we should be looking at this here in the UK.

"By being part of the trial locally we will be able to have a stronger influence on any future legislation that the government might bring forward.”

If the trial is approved by the government, it could start in High Wycombe and Aylesbury as soon as September.