Since the end of 2020, the yellow environmentally-friendly Zipp e-scooters have been a common site in some parts of Buckinghamshire.
Residents across High Wycombe and Aylesbury are no strangers in seeing people use the unique mode of transport and despite its mixed reception, they seem to be very popular in terms of its usage.
READ MORE: Controversial e-scooters are here to stay until March 2022 as trial extended
The scooter was seen in the River Wye, right outside our offices in Loudwater
There are also several parking bays the e-scooters go in once they have been used for their respective journey, and these are marked out with yellow lines in numerous different locations across the county.
However, one e-scooter didn’t find its way back to its expected bay, as it was spotted in the River Wye, right opposite our offices in Loudwater.
It took a few attempts to get the rope onto the scooter
We first spotted the dumped vehicle in the afternoon on Friday, February 18 when Storm Eunice battered parts of Buckinghamshire, but originally, I thought it was a bicycle.
READ MORE: Bucks Council investigates Zipp Mobility e-scooters left in Totteridge Lane
After 10 minutes, we managed to drag it from one side of the river to another
This was due to how fast the stream was going as I wasn’t able to notice the distinctive yellow body.
A week later, as the storms passed, I noticed that the bike was in fact one of the Zipp scooters, so on Monday, February 28, my colleague in Noora Mykkanen and myself decided to use our lunchbreak to fish the object out.
Using a lengthy rope that had a noose, we lassoed the cord over the handlebars and eventually dragged the scooter to dry land with the help of a passer-by.
Mission accomplished
As expected, the vehicle was in a bad way as it had been in the river for some time.
READ MORE: Review of e-scooter bays ‘needed’ after ‘major’ safety fears flagged
A big thanks to John from Swish Fibre who also helped Noora and I pull the scooter out
Zipp Mobility, who maintains the scooters, told the Bucks Free Press: “We are currently investigating the incident.
“If anyone sees a scooter outside of one of our parking bays, please email info@zippmobility.com.”
The scooter that was taken out of the river
It has since been returned to its bay by the ‘Station Road’ sign in Loudwater.
This isn’t the first time that something like this has happened within the county.
We moved it back to where the scooters should be in Loudwater
READ MORE: High Wycombe e-scooter user vows to never use one again after 'nightmare' first journey
In May last year, two rookie magnet fishers found a bike in the Aylesbury stretch of the Grand Union Canal, and incredibly, managed to return the item to its rightful.
It was later revealed that the bike had been stolen.
in 2019, magnet fishers in the county found undetonated World War II bombs in the Cookham stretch of the River Thames.
This came after the popular bridge in Marlow was closed twice in three days after more explosives were found in the water.
The numbe plate for the dumped scooter
And at the start of 2021, an ‘outstandingly rare’ object was discovered in Haddenham, when a 64-year-old metal detectorist found a horse brooch that was 2,000 years old.
Magnet fishing has increased in popularity following a rise in YouTube videos on the topic since 2018.
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