WALKERS fear a child will be the next to be injured after a quad bike ploughed down a dog in a local park.

The spaniel suffered a broken back and was later put down.

Now residents are calling on Bury Council to put the brakes on quad bikers and motorcyclists in Prestwich's Drinkwater Park and Philips Park, Whitefield, before a child is hurt or even killed.

A member of Prestwich Residents' Association, who did not wish to be named, said: "I wrote to Bury Council in February about the barriers missing from Prestwich Clough, as it is an access point for bikers into the Forest Park area.

"These bikes are potentially dangerous as they fly around at great speed and are ripping up paths which have only been laid in the past year by Bury Council. "There is just a general lack of security and we would like a bit more council action to expel people who shouldn't be there. The dog was run over by a quad biker who rode off. It is not hard to imagine that being a child."

He cited a catalogue of inadequate security barriers which have been pushed over, removed and even bulldozed.

"We need effective barriers," he insisted.

"There is a by-law excluding unauthorised vehicles from the area which was passed ten years ago after Bury proposed a motorcycle scramble park.

"That just shows how long the problem has been going on."

Gangs of illegal quad bikers are turning Philips Park into a "no go" area for many people.

Many have said they are working with the council to stamp out the problem and a barrier is to be erected in Philips Park - near the night club car park - to stop enthusiasts taking quad bikes into the park in vans.

Police have promised to clamp down on the illegal bikers.

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