'Real epidemic' in children being injured by e-scooters, says doctor

Consultant doctor Dr Gail Davison has urged parents to be responsible

More than 120 children within the Belfast Trust area have been treated for injuries sustained by electric scooters and e-bikes in the past 24 months, according to a senior doctor.

Dr Gail Davison, a paediatric emergency medicine consultant at the Royal Belfast Hospital, said the problem has become "a real epidemic".

She added that "it's only a matter of time before we have even more severe injuries that we're already having or increasing deaths".

Electric scooters are two-wheeled vehicles powered by electric engines and can only legally be ridden on roads, cycle paths and in parks in the UK if they are rented as part of a government-backed scheme, however no such schemes are currently in place in Northern Ireland.

Privately-owned e-scooters can only be used on private land with the landowner's permission

Privately-owned e-scooters can only be used on private land with the landowner's permission.

Davison said e-scooters have become a "real problem" for parents, patients, the community and healthcare, and can result in "life-changing and life-threatening" injuries.

Ninety-three children attended hospitals in the Belfast Trust in the last year for e-scooter injuries and over a quarter of them had fractures or head injuries warranting investigation and CT scans.

"Less than 10% are wearing helmets and they're mostly males between the age of 10 to 12," Davison added.

"I've been treating children with major head injuries requiring surgical intervention, admission, and we're seeing major wounds as well from the e-bike where children are needing to go to theatre for exploration of those wounds and surgical intervention.

"And in the last few months also, we've seen an increasing number of bystander injuries.

"So not only are the children on the e-scooter being injured, now it's bystanders such as toddlers who are just walking on the pavement."

Sadie (left) and Anne (right) are sisters - Sadie was knocked down by an e-scooter

Sadie was knocked down by an e-scooter on the Antrim Road in North Belfast.

"An adult came down one and just knocked me down on the ground," she said.

"They should be banned, or there should be a licence or something."

Brian says the e-scooters are worse than the scramblers because you can't hear them coming

Brian said that his two-year-old granddaughter was nearly injured by an e-scooter.

"Her daddy was bringing her down to me and he had parked the car on the other side of the street.

"When he walked past my car to get into my gate, two young fellas on e