PARENTS are being warned about the dangers of buying their children off-road motorcycles after a boy narrowly escaped serious injury.

The 14-year-old was riding a MT50 Honda off-road motorcycle along St Bernard's Road, Stockton, on Monday afternoon when he collided with a car. He suffered a broken right leg and was detained in the University Hospital of North Tees.

The bike, which was being ridden illegally on a public road, also had defective brakes. The boy was also breaking the law because motorcyclists must be aged over 16.

Acting Inspector Stuart Craddy, of Cleveland Police Road Policing Unit, said: "He is very, very lucky just to have received a broken leg. If the impact had been at a greater speed, it could have ended in death.

"Parents who obtain such bikes for their children must realise how dangerous they are.

"We must stress they must not be ridden on a public road and anyone wanting to ride one must be over the age of 16."

Trial bikes cause a lot of problems for the police, who are constantly trying to get the message across about how dangerous they are, not only for the cyclist but for everyone else.

The police have received complaints from people, including those who are harassed by bikes on waste land, when they are walking their dogs .

Act Insp Craddy said: "The youngsters ride them and are unaware of how dangerous these bikes are, not only to themselves but other road users.

"We get a number of complaints from people who feel they are being harassed.

"We have had a number of fatalities in the past because of these type of bikes and we are trying to put a stop to that."

Any off-road bikers caught flouting the law risk having their machines seized and crushed as part of a new campaign against problem riders.

High-profile uniformed patrols and officers from the specialist off-road motorcycle unit will target areas suffering from the problem of young riders.