TRADING standards officials have launched an investigation into the safety of children's scooters after a shop owner said he couldn't guarantee them because they were so cheap.

Roseann Kyle, of Hardman Avenue, Rawtenstall, complained after buying three micro scooters from Sidat News inside the Netto superstore on Eastgate retail Park, Accrington.

She said: "The wheel on my daughter's has come off and on my son's all the bolts have dropped out. The third keeps falling apart every couple of hours."

"If my daughter had been going down a hill she could have been killed or anything.

"At first I didn't want my money back. I wanted to exchange them. Now I want a refund.

"These are dangerous. I have been told by Trading Standards that I am entitled to it."

"The manager of Sidat News told me that I could not have a refund because they were so cheap."

The scooters carry the logo "Juststart."

Jim Potts, of the Trading Standards Office, said: "We have had problems with this type of scooter before.

"They are usually mass-produced in the Far East and bear a name which may or may not be a brand name.

"The Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that anything that you buy should be of satisfactory quality. What that means is that it should perform its use."

"It doesn't matter if the scooters were £12 or £120. You are entitled for them to work. I would expect something like that to have a shelf life of about 12 months."

"Clearly you can't say that price plays a part. If you have bought a bargain you are still entitled for it to work. Because these are children's toys we will be taking the matter very seriously. If the scooters do prove to be defective it is a serious issue." The scooters were still being sold at the store yesterday with a sign attached that read: "This is perfect scooter but we can not give guarantee because we sale very cheap. Thank you."

Mr Yuf Sidat, owner of Sidat News, said: "A lot of people had asked me to get them in as most shops are stocking them.

"If you open them and something is wrong with them we will change them but those (Mrs Kyle's) had been used and were dirty and a screw had been lost."

After being told that the Trading Standards Office was investigating the sale of the scooters, he added: "If they are I will take them off sale".

The shop is in a retail space rented from Netto.

A spokesman said: "We cannot comment on the scooters because they are not being sold by us.

"We would advise anyone with a complaint to approach the Trading Standards office."