A care chief wants pensioners to take driving lessons before hitting the streets on motorised scooters.

Councillor Morwen Millson, one-time chairman of West Sussex County Council's highways committee, says electric buggies are becoming a hazard for shoppers in busy town centres.

Now the chairman of the council's social and caring services select committee, she said elderly people were hopping on to the vehicles, which have a top speed of about 5mph, without ever having passed a test.

She believes the lessons would ensure both the drivers and shoppers were not put at risk.

Coun Millson said yesterday: "There are a lot of older gentlemen and, in particular, women who have simply never driven before. I think it would be helpful both for the people who would like to use them but are scared and also the people out there who feel a little threatened by the presence of these vehicles in quite small shopping centres.

"I've seen one or two people driving them in a fairly cavalier fashion in tight spots. I don't think they mean to but they simply don't have the experience to realise the speed they are going is inappropriate."

Tex Pemberton, Cabinet member for environmental services, said a county-wide training programme had been run in the past but had since been scrapped.

He told a council meeting: "From accident statistics there does not appear to be a problem at present but we're trying to ascertain from the police whether this is an issue in perceived danger or potential accidents."

Wendy Bloom, supervisor of Shopmobility in Horsham, said pensioners were always taken out for a test run before going out on the streets.

She said: "We take them out on their own for a lesson where we carry out risk assessment and tell them the rules. There will always be someone who has a problem but we won't send them out until we know they're happy."

Last month we reported how 105-year-old Daisy Barton, who lives at The Cedars in Brighton, was back in the saddle of her £3,000 scooter after an accident in which she fractured her hip.