CALLS for skaters, stunt bikers and scooter riders to wear helmets at Haverfordwest Skate Park have been made after a boy was taken to hospital following an accident last week.

An onlooker said that the boy, who was not wearing a helmet, came off his BMX at the skatepark and was bleeding badly.

An ambulance was called and paramedics treated the boy at the scene before taking him to hospital.

A spokesperson for the Welsh Ambulance Service said:

"We were called at 6.02pm on Saturday, September 11, to reports of a person needing medical attention after a cycling accident at Haverfordwest Skatepark.

"We attended scene with one ambulance and one patient was taken to Withybush Hospital A&E for further treatment."

The onlooker said that the accident proved there was a need to wear helmets at the park.

"So many people don't," he said. "And accidents like this demonstrate the need to wear one."

A spokesperson for Haverfordwest Skatepark said that the park actively encourages helmet use:

"We have signs at the park and advise full safety equipment, helmets, knee pads, elbow pads," they said.

"In the past we held a collaborative event with a Facebook group called Don't be Vain Protect Your Brain and distributed helmets at that event as well as others.

"The park is free to use with no permanent staff, so education of users and guidance by parents and peers are the way forward."