A cycle hire scheme has been suspended after bikes were found vandalised.

Beryl Bikes pulled out of the borough on October 1 – just three months after it began a trial scheme of its dockless bikes service with Enfield Council.

It comes as a further blow for the council’s bid to encourage healthier, environmentally friendly modes of transport.

Another dockless bikes company, Urbo, pulled out of Enfield in July last year, claiming the borough was “no longer suited to its business model”.

Beryl Bikes began a trial period of its hire scheme with council staff on June 28 before rolling it out to the wider public.

Its dockless bikes are unlocked using a pre-paid mobile phone app from dedicated ‘Beryl Bays’ placed at convenient locations, such as stations and other transport hubs.

But they are being removed from Enfield due to “a number of issues impacting the availability of the bikes” – including vandalism.

The company says it “won’t be leaving Enfield” and is “committed to supporting the borough’s goal of improving access to cycling”.

Council staff will still be able to use the bikes.

Beryl chief executive Philip Ellis said: “Beryl will continue to work closely with Enfield Council to support their long-term plans for clean and active travel.

“We’ll also continue, with the support of the local police, to investigate the vandalism. We will continue to review how Enfield can best be served by a public bike-sharing scheme and how we can work together.

“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers in Enfield who embraced the bike share scheme, gave us ideas and feedback, and shared stories of their rides in the borough.

“We are especially grateful for the many members of the community that have and continue to actively reach out to us and the police to notify us of instances of vandalism.

“Vandalism and theft of the bikes are a crime; if you see it, report it. Please contact the police at 101 and the Beryl team at support@beryl.cc.”

The company says users that have remaining minutes on their pre-paid bundles will be automatically refunded within seven working days.

It adds the scheme did not come at any cost to the taxpayer.

Dockless bikes are currently in use in parts of Greater London and other UK cities – but several firms have had to cancel their schemes due to high rates of theft and vandalism.

A council spokesperson said: “Talks are ongoing between Enfield Council and Beryl on potential next steps.

“The first months of the bike share trial in Enfield have shown a growing demand for affordable access to short bike rides.

“Enfield Council is keen to support affordable, accessible and active travel options across the borough and will continue to look at a number of options to work alongside its growing cycle infrastructure.”

Users can contact the Beryl support team directly via in-app chat or at support@beryl.cc. between 7am and 9pm Monday to Sunday.