The mystery of what’s happened to Slough’s e-scooter hire scheme has deepened after the company’s app has disappeared from online stores with ‘no clear time when it will be fixed'.

E-scooters run by Zipp Mobility were taken off the road due to an unforeseen issue in June just a month after a Slough Borough Council-backed trial hire scheme began. Almost two months later, the company has remained tight-lipped on what the issue is.

But a Zipp Mobility customer service agent told the Observer there was a ‘big issue with the app’ and that there was ‘no clear time when it will be fixed’.

The Zipp e-scooter hire scheme was launched in Slough for a trial run on May 28 this year. But the scooters have been ‘unavailable to hire’ since at least June 24.

The issues have also put similar e-scooter hire schemes out of action in Buckinghamshire and Somerset. A statement from Somerset Council issued in July said the scheme there was halted ‘due to an unexpected supplier issue'.

Meanwhile Pembrokeshire Council runs a Zipp e-bike hire scheme in the towns of Haverfordwest, Fishguard, Goodwick and Tenby. But the link to the app needed to hire the e-bikes no longer works.

Pembrokeshire Council told the Observer e-bikes are still available to hire for customers who already have the app and an update would be provided 'within the next few days'. The authority said a new app could be found by searching for ‘Zipp app’ on Google Play or the Apple App Store.

But when the Observer found and downloaded a Zipp app, a notification said the service would end on May 5, with a reduced service from April 19. And an agent on a Zipp customer service helpline said there had been a ‘big issue’ with the system that had been going on for ‘a few weeks'.

They said the company was ‘trying to fix it but there’s currently no clear time’. And they said even current users wouldn’t be able to hire an e-bike.

Charlie Wilson, UK country manager for Zipp Mobility, told the Observer the issues affecting e-scootera and e-bikes were linked 'but not the same'. He said company hoped to bring the scooters back ‘as quickly as possible'.

He said: “The issue affecting our scooters in Slough is still ongoing but we are working on a solution that will resume an e-scooter service in the area as quickly as possible. I should be able to update you on this in the next few days.

“The e-bike unavailability is related but not the same. As part of the ongoing issue, we have had to change some back end software for the scheme running in Pembrokeshire."

Mr Wilson did not say more about what the problem was or how long it had been going on for. He has previously said the scheme was run ‘at no cost to Slough Council'.

Pembrokeshire Council has been contacted for further comment.