'All cyclists must wear helmets'

New laws should be introduced to make cyclists wear helmets at all times, researchers said today.

Wearing a helmet can reduce serious head injuries by up to 88 per cent, according to experts from Edinburgh University.

They argue in the journal of the Royal Society of Medicine that current voluntary arrangements and advertising campaigns to encourage helmet use are failing.

Under-16s, at least, should be required to use helmets when cycling, they said. A Bill now going through Parliament proposes to make all under-16s wear helmets when cycling. Ideally, all cyclists should wear a helmet but only one in five do so, said the university researchers.