MEDICAL experts from Epsom hospital are urging parents to keep a close eye on their children as they ride their scooters to and from the school gates – especially beside busy roads and pedestrians.
Consultant paediatrician Dr Ruth Charlton explained: "We know that children love playing on scooters and, for many families, it's a faster and more enjoyable way to get children to school.
"Over recent years, there has been a national rise in the number of young children hurt and seriously injured in road incidents, so we're asking all local parents and guardians to keep a close eye on their children as they walk, cycle, scoot or skateboard to school."
New research shows more than 1,000 children a month are hurt on roads near schools, many within 500m of the gates.
The number of girls under eight years old killed or seriously injured rose by 38 per cent in 2010/11 and continues to rise, and in boys under-five it increased year on year between 2008 and 2010.
