A campaign calling for all off-road motor cycles to be required to be registered with the DVLA has been launched by the Manchester Evening News.

The paper has reported on the deaths of five people in the county in off-road bike incidents since October, and is calling for a change in the law to stop the "menace" of off-road bikes.

It says a legal loophole allows many motorbikes, with speeds of up to 60mph, to be marketed as toys, and this means they do not have to be registered and can be bought by children.

It also means they do not need to display a number plate and can avoid rigorous safety checks.

The paper says Greater Manchester police received almost 26,000 complaints about off-roaders in the past year, but they are hampered by the lack of registration.

Paul Murphy, vice-chairman of Greater Manchester Police Authority, told the MEN that research by the authority suggested 90 per cent of bikes had a number on the engine removed, meaning they were almost certainly stolen.

He said: "Without a registration scheme we've no idea where they come from. The market has been flooded, particularly with bikes from China bought on the Internet.

"We want to get the law changed. We thank the MEN for campaigning with us."

The MEN's campaign has also been backed by MPs, including Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley, who has pledged to raise the issue in the Commons when it reopens in October.