A 17-YEAR-OLD motorcyclist suffered serious injuries after a car and motorbike collided in Upton at the weekend.

Police and the ambulance service were called to the scene, at the junction of Poole Road and Heights Approach, outside the Co-op, following the collision at around 6.30pm on Saturday.

The crash involved a Citroen C3 car and a Honda motorbike.

The motorcyclist, a 17-year-old man, believed to be from Upton, was taken to hospital. His injuries were described as serious but not life-threatening.

Officers closed the road for several hours while the scene was examined by investigators and traffic was diverted.

The car driver, a 21-year-old woman, was uninjured.

Gail Stewart was working in the Co-op when the crash happened.

She said: “We phoned the police; there were lots of crowds here and the guy was lying still.

“It was a big bang. Nothing has happened in the time I’ve worked here – two-and-a-half-years – but it’s a dodgy junction.

“It’s such horrible experience seeing an accident.”

Nearby resident Stephen Mulliner added: “I’d been out but when I got back the road was closed and there were three ambulances and police.

“People do use that junction as a place to U-turn. I don’t know what happened here but it happens a lot.

“I think he had two broken legs. I came home about 6.15pm and this road was closed until about 10pm.

“He was on the ground for a while and he must have been in pain because I could hear him screaming his head off.”

Another resident of Heights Approach said: “It’s a busy road and there have been a few incidents.

“I’m glad the lad is hopefully going to make a recovery although it’s an awful thing to have happened.

“I came home and the road was shut off by police.”

Speaking to the Daily Echo at the scene, Sgt Nikki Burt of Dorset Police said: “This crash highlights the necessity for drivers to look for motorcyclists, especially at this time of year with the start of the summer when there is going to be an increase in the number of motorbikes on the roads.

“All road users need to be courteous to others.”

Witnesses to the crash should contact PC Heidi Moxam of Poole Traffic Police via 101.

Safety plea to bikers

SIX bikers have died on the area’s roads already this year and the latest incident comes less than a week after Daniel Jones died on the A356 Maiden Newton.

Just days before Ivan Tomlinson from Andover, Hampshire, was killed following a collision at the Horton Inn crossroads in East Dorset.

Derek Collings, from Bournemouth, died on the A350 near Blandford St Mary in February, while in April Richard King from Bridport suffered fatal injuries in a collision on the B3157 Burton Bradstock to Swyre road.

In March Andrew Robert Fraser, from Basingstoke, died in a collision on the B3390 south of the A35 near Affpuddle.

Frank Bowen from West Howe died on the A30 a few miles over the border into Wiltshire in May.

The youngest to die was 16-year-old Jade Clark, from Ringwood, who was killed on the Dorset/ Hampshire border on the A31in February.