POLICE said last night they were not linking claims of children playing a game of “chicken” to a teenage cyclist being knocked off his bike.

The 13-year-old boy, who has yet to be named, was yesterday said to be recovering in hospital, two days after he was involved in a collision with a Rover estate car, in Roundhill Road, Hurworth Moor, near Darlington.

Officers confirmed last night that they had received calls from members of the public who said they had seen young cyclists playing dare near the scene of the accident.

But they made it clear that there is nothing currently to connect the incidents.

A spokesman added that the boy, believed to be from Darlington, was improving in The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and was in a comfortable condition.

Borough councillor Martin Swainston said: “I’m horrified to hear that children are playing such a dangerous game. It’s clearly asking for trouble.

“Whether it’s related to the accident, I don’t know.”

One resident who contacted The Northern Echo claimed that a child had been lying in the road in Westfield Drive, Hurworth.

When she stopped the car and sounded her horn, the boy lifted his head, made an obscene gesture and swore at her.

Meanwhile, police have traced a friend who was with the 13-year-old at the time of the collision, but left the scene without giving his details.

The accident happened at 8pm on Wednesday, near a bungalow about a mile north of Hurworth. Police said there was a substantial impact between the bike and the car.

Officers sealed off the road for more than two hours to carry out their investigations, diverting villagers along other access roads into Hurworth.

The boy was initially taken by ambulance to Darlington Memorial Hospital before being transferred to James Cook hospital.

Residents and councillors have all complained about a mixture of problems in the area, including speeding, a dangerous bend and a rise in the road, as well as young cyclists riding without lights.

A Darlington Borough Council spokeswoman said: “We are working with the police as part of their investigation into the circumstances of the accident.”