Investigation under way after 12-year-old boy on e-scooter dies in bus collision

It happened in the Bordesley Green area, on the road of the same name, near the Belchers Lane junction, just before 8am on Tuesday.

Tributes have poured in for the youngster, who has been named locally as Mustafa Madeem, who was said to have been heading to school on the scooter when the collision took place.

A Birmingham City Council spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the boy at this awful time. Police are investigating the circumstances of the collision and have appealed for witnesses, so we would not be able to comment further while that is on-going."

The road was closed on Tuesday afternoon while police investigators tried to establish what happened. No one on the bus was injured.

A comment from a Transport for West Midlands spokesperson read: "Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the family and friends of the boy who died so tragically this morning.

"The incident is now the subject of an ongoing police investigation and it is only right and proper we await the findings before commenting further."

The youngster's family has been told, and are being supported by specially trained officers.

Detective Sergeant Paul Hughes, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: "This is an awful tragedy for the young boy's family and friends, and our thoughts are with them at this time.

"We've spoken to a number of witnesses, but still want to hear from any of the passengers on the bus who we've not yet spoken to, or from people who may have captured what happened on dashcam.

A number of concerned residents have taken to social media to call on future use of electric scooters.

The youngster's death comes as Britain faces a sharp rise in the number of people killed during e-scooter crashes, with the number of fatal collisions tripling in a year.

It is believed the Birmingham youngster was riding a Voi e-scooter, one of the machines that is part of a city trial supposedly only for over-18s who hold at least a provisional driving licence.

The law states e-scooters can only be used on public roads if rented as part of a government-backed trial such as the one that exists in Birmingham, while the privately-owned types can only be used on private land.

Following the tragic incident, a Voi spokesman, said: “First and foremost our thoughts are with the deceased’s family and friends. The news of this tragic accident has shocked us deeply.

“We’re liaising with West Midlands Police and providing them with all the necessary information and we will be fully supportive of their ongoing investigation.

"We will not provide any further comment on the details of the incident at this moment in time.”