WINCHESTER's senior neighbourhood warden has predicted "someone will die" unless the use of mini-motorbikes is curtailed.

Nigel Devlin, the warden supervisor, said children riding the machines were endangering themselves and others.

He said: "It is a major problem all over Winchester. We have got to stop the problem - someone is going to die very soon.

"We are working closely with the police and support officers. A letter from me is going out to all the residents in Highcliffe asking for information.

"I know who is doing it, but it is getting the information so we can take action."

Mr Devlin made the stark prediction on Tuesday evening at a meeting of the town forum, speaking 24 hours after a 16-year-old boy was seriously hurt while riding a mini-motorbike in Highcliffe.

The 16-year-old, who has not been named, was in collision with a car in Fivefields Road, at about 5.45pm on Monday.

He suffered a broken leg and was taken by ambulance to the Royal Hampshire County Hospital in Winchester.

Cllr Sue Nelmes, who represents Highcliffe, said she was nearly hit by one recently.

On another occasion she had to step into the road because three mini-bikes and their riders were hogging the pavement, she said.

Meanwhile, Mr Devlin said there was public confusion over the roles of the neighbourhood wardens, police community support officers, and accredited community safety officers.

The wardens in red uniforms are city council employees who cover Highcliffe, Stanmore and Winnall estates, and work to deter anti-social behaviour and improve the environment.

PCSOs support the police in police-style uniforms, but with blue flashes and have limited powers of arrest.

ACSOs work for the county council and patrol in marked vans equipped with CCTV.

City councillor Alexis Fall, who represents Stanmore, said: "Since the wardens started in Stanmore they have been brilliant."