A dad has told of his horror after his child narrowly avoided being hit with an e-scooter flung from a Quayside bridge.
Darren Rutherford was out on an evening run with his two boys along the Quayside on Monday, when a neuron scooter was thrown from the High Level Bridge.
The chunky device missed his eldest son by a matter of feet, leaving the whole family "incredibly shaken up".
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The 48-year-old dad, from Kenton, said: "I was taking my two sons, aged 13 and 9, out for a run to try and cheer them up.
"We made our way along the Quayside from the Millennium Bridge, and as we passed by the High Level Bridge, it all happened quite quickly.
"I heard a noise, and as I looked up, I knew something was wrong.
"My younger boy, Joey, was in front and white as a sheet, but it was the older one, Darren, who had to dodge out of the way as the e-scooter fell from the bridge."
The scooter, which fell from the height of around 26m, smashed as it hit the Quayside floor.
Darren, who works as a repairs technician for VetsDirect, added: "It could have killed my boy; any of the other people walking by the river or landed on one of the parked cars.
"It bounced on the floor and gave us a real fright. I felt angry and panicked at the time, and even now the boys are traumatised."
Darren saw what he believes to be three youngsters running away from the scene along the High Level Bridge towards Gateshead.
The boys asked to go home immediately and Darren has since reported the incident to the police.
He said that although he generally likes the e-scooters, he is now worried about them "getting into the wrong hands".
A Neuron spokeswoman said: “ We are aware of this incident. We have retrieved the e-scooter and are assisting Northumbria Police with their enquiries.
"Fortunately, these kinds of incidents are extremely rare. We encourage anyone with information on this case to get in touch with the police directly.”
Northumbria Police was approached for a comment.
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