The mother of a boy killed in a crash urges the government to introduce a licensing scheme to save lives as a report reveals 500 child injuries since 2019.

Jacob Calland was 14 years old when the e-scooter he was riding collided with a BMW in March last year. Flung on to the road, he suffered catastrophic head injuries and died in hospital eight days later, reports The Times.

The Manchester schoolboy’s death is one of 59 highlighted by researchers who have called on the government to review the legislation on e-scooters. 

Researchers led by Lisa Sabir, honorary clinical research fellow at the University of Sheffield, found that since 2019 in Liverpool, Manchester and Sheffield almost 500 children had ­reported to trauma centres with e-scooter-related injuries.

The average age of those affected was 12, and half were aged between 10 and 13. Fewer than 2 per cent of those who were injured had been wearing helmets. 

“E-scooter-related injuries are rising,” the research, published in the Emergency Medicine Journal, said. “There is a need for greater public awareness, clear public health messaging and review of government legislation to prevent further injuries and deaths.”

Carly Calland, Jacob’s mother, said:

“One ­person injured is one person too many,” she said. “I’m fighting for these other people but the government is not ­listening; lives are being lost.”

At present, e-scooters are legal on British streets only if rented through companies taking part in government-backed trials, meaning that riders must hold a valid driving licence and the speed of the vehicles is capped. 

Use of private e-scooters on public roads is banned and the police are ­expected to seize any found on the streets.

However, up to 1.2 million people in England are thought to own e-scooters, and many are sold by popular retailers. 

Jacob was on the back of a teenage friend’s e-scooter, bought for him by his mother and capable of reaching speeds of up to 28mph, when the collision ­took place. The friend, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was given a non-custodial sentence.

Mrs Calland wants e-scooters to be ­legalised so that tougher rules can be put in place such as a licence scheme with registration plates, mandatory helmets, insurance and an age limit.

“My message to the government and Andy Burnham is to get a grip of it,” she said. “I don’t want anyone else to go through what I have been through.”

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(Picture: Metropolitan Police)