A MOTORISED scooter owner has been given the go-ahead to legally drive his mean machine on the road.

Blackburn-based Ross Walker was rejoicing today now his application to drive his dream machine on the roads was finally accepted after months of wrangling.

Ross first ran into trouble last year when he was told he couldn't ride his motorised skateboard on the highway.

But now regulations have been altered so people with a motor trader's insurance policy can ride the motorised scooters on the roads.

Ross said: "The news is fantastic, although there is still a long way to go until most people are given the freedom to the highway."

Ross, owner of Rocket Aprilia Centre, in Livesey Branch Road, is one of the first people in the country to have his Go-ped fully registered so that it is roadworthy.

The Go-ped is made up of a skateboard deck, two wheels, a 22.5cc two stroke strimmer engine, a pair of handle bars and an aluminium pole.

The Go-ped was invented in 1985, by Californian firm Patmount, a business run from a garage, who turned what was originally a small imaginative drawing on a scrap piece of paper into reality.

They are used at Silverstone to make it easy to get around for errands for the pit crews known as a bun run.

Ross currently holds the British Go-ped championship title, which he won last November at Blackburn's Go Kart Track.

The National Championships are being held there this year on Saturday, May 26 at noon, entry is £1 each for spectators, which all goes to St John's Ambulance, Blackburn.

Competitors will compete for the chance to go to the International Go-ped championships, which are held in America later on in the year.

Ross said: "Last year over 40 riders were competing and we saw over 300 spectators into the arena, which we are hoping will grow each year, it is really good because keen riders from all over the country can get together to show off their skills."