About 200 children 'seriously hurt' by e-scooters

Staff at Alder Hey Children's Hospital have treated children for a range of injuries over the past five years, a consultant has said

About 200 children in Merseyside have been seriously injured by e-scooters over the past five years, a consultant has said.

Charlotte Durand, a consultant in paediatric medicine at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, said some of those children suffered significant head and facial injuries, as well as "lots of broken bones".

She said these were "significant injuries that are either necessitating an operation or an admission to hospital".

Dr Durand said the department worked alongside colleagues in Manchester and Sheffield and the number of injuries rose to about 500 when e-scooter injuries in those areas were also taken into account.

Dr Durand said the data on the number of children injured was "really the tip of the iceberg".

She said work needed to be done to educate children and their families and in schools and the wider community to try to improve safety around e-scooters.

Merseyside Police has been approached for comment.

Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Emily Spurrell has previously spoken about the issue of privately owned e-scooters being ridden illegally in public spaces.

She said some people were buying scooters which were not part of the e-scooter pilot scheme in Liverpool, thinking they could use them the same way.

But those scooters could not be used on public land, she said.