if you like gliding down the street like a low-rent Marty McFly: “hoverboards” (also known as self-balancing scooters) are illegal to ride in public in Britain, according to guidance released by the Crown Prosecution Service.

The wheeled vehicles, which are an evolution of the infamous Segway “personal transportation device”, are too unsafe to ride on the road, but too dangerous to ride on the pavement, according to legislation. As a result, they are only legal to use on land that is private property, and only with the landowner’s permission, the CPS says.

The guidance, which was initially released for Segway scooters, points out that since self-balancing scooters are powered vehicles they are illegal to ride on the pavement under section 72 of the Highway Act 1835. In Scotland, where the act does not apply, they are still illegal to ride on the pavement under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.