A 17-year-old Bolton motorcyclist is looking to warn others after breaking both of his ankles in a crash.

Malik Iqbal had been riding his Kawasaki Ninja 125 for just three weeks when he came off his bike while travelling towards Bolton on Scout Road in Horrocks Fold at around 4.30pm on Tuesday, June 19.

The teenager, who lives in Heaton, said his memory of the incident is a bit hazy, but he believes he may have slipped on something in the road.

Malik had been riding his Kawasaki bike for just three weeks when he came offMalik had been riding his Kawasaki bike for just three weeks when he came off (Image: Malik Iqbal)

He said: “I’ve gone for a right turn, I’ve gone a bit wide – I might have perhaps slipped on something on the road, I think it was gasoline or oil or something, and as I’ve gone for the right turn I’ve completely not managed to turn fully, gone straight head-on into the metal barrier.

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“My feet impacted first, and that’s where both my ankles managed to break and displace themselves, and then I landed over the top of the fence, into the bushes across the fence – and that’s where my shins completely split.

“My left shin bone completely split in half, and I’ve just had surgery yesterday to put a road in my left shin to put the bones back in place to align them, because they were completely out of place.”

Malik says he believes he was travelling around 20 to 30mph at the time of the crash, but that he misjudged the speed appropriate for the turn. He said an air ambulance crew even attended the incident, but that he was taken to the Royal Bolton Hospital by road ambulance.

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He added: “Young riders need to make sure they watch their speed – as much as I thought I knew what I was doing, it’s literally been in the blink of an eye I’ve managed to break both my legs and I’m not going to be able to do much for the next six months.”

Due to start an aerospace engineering apprenticeship, Malik hopes to be back on his bike once he’s recovered – but he says he’ll be ‘a lot more cautious about it’.

Malik said he went straight in to the metal barrier on the right turn, ending up in the bushes on the other sideMalik said he went straight in to the metal barrier on the right turn, ending up in the bushes on the other side (Image: Google)

He said: “I’m going to be a lot more cautious about it, one of the bigger things as well, I didn’t really have any gear on.

“I only had my helmet and my gloves. I didn’t have any proper upper body protection or pants, or anything. That would be another message: make sure you do ride with gear.

“A simple pair of decent boots and cargos could have stopped so much of the laceration on my legs and maybe even stopped my ankles from completely dislocating.”

Malik said if he'd been wearing proper pants he may not have suffered lacerationsMalik said if he'd been wearing proper pants he may not have suffered lacerations (Image: Malik Iqbal)

Malik thanked paramedics, nurses, and medical staff for helping with his recovery, as well as the ‘lovely bystanders’ – including one man who held his hand ‘through the entire thing’.

He added: “You do hear the warnings as well. You care, but you don't give them as much until it's actually happened to you.

“If I knew this was coming I would have been geared up for it - but I didn't think it was coming. Nobody ever does think it's coming.”

Greater Manchester Police confirmed it attended the incident.

If you have a story, I cover the whole borough of Bolton. Please get in touch at jack.fifield@newsquest.co.uk.