YOU don't have to look far in East Lancashire to spot youngsters whizzing along on motorised scooters.

The noise of the motor is the first thing to alert the unwary pedestrian before the contraption shoots past either on the road or on the pavement.

It is inevitable that more of these widely-available machines will now be around after being given as presents last week and today's warning by police is indeed timely.

The community beat manager for the Roe Lee and Brownhill areas of Blackburn says he knows of two near misses in the past fortnight - one which involved a woman and two children having to jump out of the way on the pavement and the other where a driver had to swerve to avoid crashing into a scooter rider on the road.

This growing problem is echoed throughout East Lancashire where youngsters are ignoring the fact that motorised scooters can only be legally used on private land unless they have adequate brakes and lights and the user is wearing a helmet and has a driving licence and insurance.

Youngsters aged 12 to 15 travelling at up to 40mph in such obviously dangers circumstances risk being banned from driving before they are old enough to start.

Police must exercise their powers to confiscate these machines and at the same time speak to parents who allow their children to put themselves and others at such risk.