A WORRIED father has called for extra security at the Colne Grand Prix after his three-year-old daughter suffered a broken arm.

Little Alishba Ashraf was watching the warm-up race at the cycling spectacular, close to the town's children centre, with her older sister and grandfather when she suffered her injury.

One of the riders in the support race lost control of his bike, coming around the sweeping bottom bend between Craddock Road and Market Street, and careered into a metal retaining barrier.

Alishba and her five-year-old sister Zunairah were thrown backwards by the impact, as was their grandfather Mohammed Ashraf.

Luckily, Zunairah only suffered a cut lip and her grandfather was just left with bruising as a result of the collision last Wednesday.

But Alishba took the full force of the impact and was left with a broken arm, according to her father Naveed.

He lives close to the town centre and was immediately alerted to the incident by family and friends.

Naveed said: "It was a nightmare — I saw all the people crowded around and then the ambulance came shortly afterwards.

“I can remember someone taking our details but that was it. My daughter was taken to hospital but she had to be kept in overnight.

“And then the next day she had to have an operation to have a metal plate inserted to hold the bone in place while it heals.

“I'm just surprised that there was not a marshal there warning people to stand back because the barrier hit my daughter very hard.

“I just want to make sure nothing like this happens to another family watching the race."

The rider involved in the crash is also known to have suffered extensive grazing.

British Cycling, which organises the Grand Prix, now in its 10th year, was not available for comment.