A man has described how he put out an e-bike fire next to a Hackney park with a watering can.

Tom Uprichard, who lives in Queen Elizabeth’s Walk, was about to set off for a walk on Monday evening (May 1) when he noticed a green electric Lime hire bike on fire.

He rushed to douse the flames with a watering can before a neighbour wheeled the bike to rest against the railings of Clissold Park.

Lime said that it believed the fire was caused by vandalism and that it was investigating the incident.

Tom said: “I came outside to go for a walk and saw this contraption blazing away just a few yards along the footpath.

“I went to get a watering can and then a neighbour came along with some more water and we doused it together.

“Someone else came and wheeled it against the park railings. By the next morning it had gone, I didn’t see anybody take it.”

The London Fire Brigade said that it attended more than 116 e-Bike or e-Scooter fires in 2022. It claimed that these were often caused by charging batteries.

Last month a man had to be rescued from his house in Dalston after a converted e-bike caught fire in the early hours of the morning.

But Lime said that, in this instance, an individual appeared to have deliberately started the fire in the bike’s basket.

Tom, who described Lime e-bikes as “pests”, said that he was more “amused” than “scared” by the fire.

He added: “It wasn’t really a danger to anybody although it was a bit of a surprise I must admit.

“But it’s not petrol so it’s not going to blow up. Although, if the battery itself catches fire, then it can be quite nasty. But this was confined to the front wheel, quite a way away from the battery.”

 A Lime spokesperson said: "The fire reported appears to have been caused by an incident of vandalism involving an individual starting a fire in the e-bike's basket.

“We understand how this must have been concerning for local residents to witness.

“Lime does not tolerate vandalism, and we are now conducting a thorough investigation to understand what occurred."