AN AIR ambulance and mountain rescue teams were called out after two off-road motorcyclists collided on waste land in Leigh yesterday.

The riders are thought to have crashed head on while cycling through old coal tips off Plank Lane.

Ambulance crews unable to make their way through the waste land had to radio for assistance and the air ambulance and Bolton Mountain Rescue Team were called.

The accident happened shortly after 4pm. A 33-year-old man suffering serious head injuries was rescued by the air ambulance, while the other motorcyclist, a youth aged 16, is thought to have multiple fractures.

He was carried to safety by mountain rescue workers.

Both were taken to Royal Bolton Hospital.

The accident happened about a kilometre away from the road. A spokesman for the Mountain Rescue Team, said: "There were ambulance, police, the helicopter and ourselves and everybody just worked together well.

"We also had a lot of assistance from other bikers on the scene."