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A teenager riding a hoverboard in London has died after being involved in a collision with a bus, police have said.

The 15-year-old boy is said to have been riding one of the self-balancing scooters in Alperton, west London, on Thursday evening when the incident occurred. The teenager, who has not been named, died at the scene.


The Metropolitan Police said his family had been informed. The death is believed to be the first involving a person riding a hoverboard in the UK.

In order to see this embed, you must give consent to Social Media cookies. Open my cookie preferences. Sad to hear about the death of a 15-year-old boy in Alperton last night who collided with a bus whilst riding a hoverboard — James Denselow (@cllrjdenselow) December 11, 2015

The bus driver has not been arrested, the Evening Standard has reported, and Transport for London said its "deepest sympathies" were with the friends and family of the boy. "Police were called by the London Ambulance Service shortly before 18:30hrs Thursday, 10 December to a report of a collision between a pedestrian and a bus on Glacier Way, near the junction of Ealing Road, Alperton," a Met police statement said. "Officers attended and a 15-year-old boy was found seriously injured at the location. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Next of kin have been informed."

Earlier this year the Crown Prosecution Service warned that it is illegal to ride the hoverboards in public, both on pavements and on roads.

Guidelines for their use state they can't be classed "as invalid carriages" so can't be used on pavements. And, as they are "mechanically propelled", hoverboards need registering and taxing to be used on the roads.