A BRADFORD mum has hit out at the dangers of electric scooters after her seven-year-old daughter suffered facial injuries when she was knocked down on the pavement by one of the vehicles.
The incident happened yesterday afternoon (Tuesday) on Burnham Avenue in Bierley while Claire Birkhead and her daughter Erinne, 7, were walking back to their car while on the school run from St John’s C of E Primary School on Dawson Lane.
Mrs Birkhead, who said her daughter suffered a broken nose, chipped tooth and bruising and swelling to her lip and face, is calling for tighter restrictions and wants to raise awareness about the dangers of e-scooters.
Describing the incident to the T&A, Mrs Birkhead said: "We just came out of school.
"My daughter ran in front of me on the pavement to be with her friends who were with other mums.
"There were quite a few children and mums around.
"There was a teenage boy on a scooter coming the other way.
"I was behind her and saw it was about to hit her. I was going to shout for her to get out of the way but it was too late.
"When it hit her, she twisted like how a cat lands.
"One of the parents picked her up and set her on the grass. There was blood everywhere.
"She was taken to the hospital, but because of the swelling she can't have x-rays or scans to see the extent of the damage.
"I'll have to take her to have a follow-up appointment.
"She's off school today and is at home resting.
"The boy did stop for a moment and my knee-jerk reaction was to give him a telling off.
"He tried to blame my daughter for running.
"He left when I said I was contacting the police."
A spokesperson for Yorkshire Ambulance Service said: "We received an emergency call at 3.42pm yesterday to a report of a collision between an electric scooter and a child on Burham Avenue.
"An ambulance was dispatched to the scene and one patient was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary."
Mrs Birkhead contacted the police, who have launched an appeal for witnesses to the incident.
A spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police said: "Police are appealing for witnesses after a young girl was injured after being hit by an e-scooter whilst walking on a pavement in Bradford.
"The incident is reported to have happened at around 3.30pm yesterday afternoon (October 3) on Burnham Avenue.
"The young girl suffered injuries to her face.
"Police are appealing for anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward.
"Anyone with information is asked to contact police via 101 or use the live chat facility at westyorkshire.police.uk/contactus quoting crime reference number 13230550309."
Mrs Birkhead, who has been comforting young Erinne, also reflected on what could have happened if her two-year-old could have been the victim.
She said: "It all just magnifies it a bit more as it could also have happened to my two-year-old who was in the pram. How bad would it be for such a young one?
"I think there needs to be tighter restrictions," she said. "There should be some kind of licensing.
"If a person is caught with one on the pavement or anywhere else they're not supposed to be, they should be able to be confiscated or destroyed.
"I'm also thinking about contacting my local MP and asking them to see if they could do anything to ask about tighter restrictions."
The West Yorkshire Police received a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request asking for statistics involving the number of collisions involving e-scooters, the number of under 18s injured in these collisions and how serious the injuries were.
So far in 2023, the West Yorkshire Police have reported nine damage only e-scooter collisions, compared to six each in both 2022 and 2021. Three children were hit in those collisions in both 2023 and 2022.
In 2023, the police reported seven slight injury e-scooter collisions, compared to 10 in 2022 and five in 2021. Three children were either hit or injured in those collisions in both 2023 and 2022 and one was injured in 2021.
The police reported one person was seriously injured in an e-scooter collision in 2023, while serious injuries were reported to three people in 2022 and one in 2021. One of those injuries was a child in 2022 and there was one seriously injured child in 2021.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel