POLICE have vowed to clamp down on people riding motorbikes in a dangerous or anti-social way after a six-year-old boy was knocked over and fractured his skull.

Residents in Winsford have become increasingly worried about people riding motorbikes illegally on the town's estates but police have assured them the problem will be dealt with.

PCSO Clair Hulse, from Winsford Neighbourhood Policing Unit, said: "We now have the powers to deal with these people effectively and we will use those powers.

"We can seize bikes from people who are riding them illegally or in an anti-social way and then they have to produce the correct documents within 14 days."

Parents were outraged two weeks ago when six-year-old Ike Jones was left in hospital with a fractured skull and broken leg after he was run over while playing near his home in Dee Way.

But PCSO Hulse believes positive steps are already being taken after a motorbike was seized in Meadowbank on June 15.

She said: "The motorbike was seized on suspicion of him driving without insurance and he will now have to produce documents as well as pay the storage costs for the bike.

"It is a problem that has got worse in recent years but hopefully these new powers will have a big impact."

PCSO Hulse is appealing to young riders of motorbikes to make sure they stay within the law.

She said: "This becomes more of a problem in the summer months when kids are off school so we will be looking at it very closely.

"We don't want to have to seize these motorbikes but now we can and we will not hesitate to do so."