Motorised Go-Peds are motor vehicles "intended for use on roads" and are subject to the full gamut of road traffic laws, two top judges ruled in a test case yesterday.

The decision means owners of the 20mph motorised scooters must wear helmets, be licensed, road-taxed and third party insured if they take them on to public roads.

John Prescott, Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions, will decide whether they should be classified as motorbikes or mopeds.

The decision means Go-Peds may now be restricted to private land.

Lord Justice Pill and Mr Justice Potts upheld an appeal by the Chief Constable of North Yorkshire against Harrogate magistrates' decision to acquit Middlesbrough man, Michael Saddington, of driving while disqualified and without insurance.

But the Chief Constable, who brought the case to clarify a vital point of law, did not ask the court to interfere with Mr Saddington's acquittal which still stands.

Mr Saddington was seen by police in Harrogate after he failed to stop at traffic lights. He was pursued by a police car until he picked up his 22.5cc machine and went into a pub.

There, he was questioned and officers discovered he was disqualified from driving.

He pleaded guilty to failing to stop at the lights and for the police and the magistrates convicted him of failing to wear protective head gear.

But he was cleared of the other offences after the magistrates ruled Go-Peds were not "intended for road use", and were thus not subject to the usual tax and licensing regime applied to motor vehicles.

Overturning that decision, Lord Justice Potts said the question was not whether a reasonable person would take a Go-Ped on to a public road or whether only someone "losing their senses" would do so.

The design and capabilities of Go-Peds and the wish of riders to save time and "get quickly through traffic" also had to be taken into account. "In my judgment, the conclusion must be that general use on the roads is to be contemplated."

The reality was that distributors' advice against using Go-Peds on roads "will in practice be ignored to a considerable extent", the judge said.

He concluded: "A Go-Ped, which is considered to be a mechanically propelled vehicle, is one intended for use on the roads within the meaning of the Statute.

"A driving license and third party insurance were required."

The court heard Mr Saddington could not be in court to hear the judges' ruling because of train delays due to speed restrictions imposed in the wake of the Hatfield rail disaster