A TEENAGE motorcyclist was fighting for his life today after being involved in a crash last night.

The boy, aged about 16, had been riding a Honda motorbike along Wigan Road, towards the Tamar pub at 11.30pm when he lost control and crashed into a garden wall at the junction of Ashby Grove.

Firefighters returning from a job spotted him and gave first aid at the scene before an ambulance took him to Wigan Infirmary with serious head and back injuries.

He was later transferred to Salford's Hope Hospital, where he was in intensive care.

A pillion passenger on the bike, also aged around 16, fled from the scene, but later appeared at Wigan Infirmary, where he was treated for head injuries.

He has since been arrested in connection with the incident. Police believe that the motorbike had been stolen.

Neither the driver nor the passenger was wearing a helmet.

PC Paul Chadwick, of Leigh Traffic Police, said there had been three fatalities on that stretch of Wigan Road already this year.