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At least 477 children in England have been injured due to electronic scooters in the past six years – and dozens have required surgery, a study has found.

British researchers have found that the number of kids seeking hospital treatment with e-scooter injuries has increased more than 20-fold since 2019.

They warned that children as young as 10 are increasingly using privately purchased vehicles, which can be modified to reach rapid speeds of 70mph.

And fewer than 2 per cent of e-scooter users wear helmets, the data, collected by UK children's hospitals, show.

The findings come as separate analysis by the Parliamentary Advisory Council for Transport Safety revealed that 59 Britons have been killed by the two-wheeled vehicles since 2019.

Fourteen-year-old Jacob Calland died last year after a friend used an e-scooter on 'turbo mode'.

Since July 2020, e-scooters have been available to rent by over-16s under a government-backed trial in cities like London, Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham.

They are allowed to be used in cycle lanes and on roads in these areas, excluding on motorways and pavements, and can reach maximum speeds of around 15.5mph.

At least 477 children in England have been injured while riding e-scooters since 2019 and dozens have required surgery, a major study has found. Pictured: stock image

An e-scooter awareness campaign was launched by Carly Calland (right), the mother of Jacob Calland (left), whose death was caused by a friend using an e-scooter on 'turbo mode'

But it is illegal to ride a privately owned e-scooter on public pavements or roads.

Despite this, the devices have been available to buy from UK retailers since 2018, costing upwards of £1,000 in some instances.

While it is legal to sell them, vendors must give customers accurate information about the legal restrictions on their use.

The new research analysed injuries reported between January 2019 and December 2024 at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool, Royal Manchester Children's Hospital and Sheffield Children's Hospital.

This suggests the true nationwide injury toll may be significantly higher than the near-500 injuries found in just a handful of hospitals.

The team, who were based out of each hospital, described e-scooter injuries as a 'rising public health challenge'.

In 2019, just five e-scooter injuries were recorded across the two hospitals for which researchers had data - one at Sheffield Children's Hospital and four at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool.

Figures for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital were only available from 2023 onwards because of a change to its electronic records system.

By 2024, the number of e-scooter injuries recorded at the three hospitals had surged to 149.

Over the six-year study period, the 477 children who presented with injuries at the hospitals' trauma centres had an average age of 12.

Most of the injuries – 213 – were reported in Liverpool, followed by 198 in Sheffield and 66 in Manchester.

Every one of the injuries in Sheffield was believed to have involved a private scooter because the city does not have a rental trial scheme.

Just three injuries were linked to rental scheme scooters in Liverpool and Manchester, meaning the vast majority were bought.

Two-thirds of the children injured were boys and 95 per cent of the injuries affected the driver.

The most common injuries affected the limbs, head and face, with 33 children requiring surgery and 64 being admitted to hospital.

Three-quarters of the affected children came from the most deprived areas, the researchers said.

'We urgently need to increase public and clinician awareness, have clearer public health messaging, review of government legislation to prevent further injuries and deaths,' said the authors.

'Retailers should have a responsibility to pass on the legal regulations to their customers as well as UK regulations to ensure safety in the design of private e-scooters.'

A Department for Transport spokesman told the Daily Mail: 'These are concerning findings, and our thoughts are with anyone who has been injured on our roads.

'It is illegal for private e-scooters to be used on roads, pavements or in other public spaces, including by under 16s, and we're bringing forward new laws to make their use safe and legal, including consulting on requirements like helmets.'

Carly Calland described having her heart smashed into a thousand pieces' following the death of her son, Jacob, in an e-scooter crash.

Jacob was on the back of his 15-year-old friend's vehicle and suffered irreversible severe brain injuries from the crash in Wythenshawe, Manchester, on March 19, 2025.

He died eight days later in hospital.

Manchester Crown Court heard in June that the driver – who cannot be named for legal reasons – received the scooter as a present from his mother two weeks before the collision.

He was said to be a 'thrill seeker' and ran through a red light before crashing into a BMW.

Prosecutors said the exact speed the e-scooter was travelling at could not be determined but it was in a 'turbo mode' setting that reaches up to 28mph.

After pleading guilty to causing death by dangerous driving at an earlier hearing, the teenager was sentenced to an 18-month rehabilitation order.

'My heart has been smashed into a thousand pieces and there is nothing that can be done to fix it. My life is a living nightmare,' Ms Calland said in a statement.

'I climbed into the hospital bed to cuddle him and I fell asleep holding him. When I woke up, it was time to turn off the machines.

'I told Jacob I loved him just before he passed away. My baby boy was gone forever.

'He won't sit his GCSEs, he won't have his sweet 16 birthday party, he won't go to his school prom. He won't be able to follow his dreams. He won't get married and won't have children. His life ended the moment that collision happened.'