British tourists have been warned against hiring mopeds and quad bikes abroad after a spate of deaths serious injuries.

Kieran Roche, 19, from Swindon, died in a quad-biking accident on the Greek island of Crete last month, and two British women were seriously injured in a quad-bike crash on the island of Zante.

Natasha Stevens, 17, an art student from Lancashire, suffered severe injuries in a separate quad-bike accident last month, also on Zante.

In March, Philip Loates, a 26-year-old teacher from Essex, died in Thailand following a moped crash with a lorry, and a 55-year-old man from Hertfordshire was placed in an induced coma after a moped crash, also in Thailand.

The Association of British Travel Agents (Abta), said its members had reported 36 quad-bike accidents and seven moped accidents last year, and that seven people had been injured in quad-bike accidents so far this year. It believes the true number of accidents to be much higher, given that many will be unreported.

Nikki White, Abta’s director of destinations and sustainability, said: “Every year people suffer serious injuries after hiring mopeds or quad bikes while on holiday. Many have little experience of using these vehicles and are also unfamiliar with the local roads and driving standards.

“It’s so easy when you’re relaxing on holiday to do things you wouldn’t dream of doing back home; but you are putting yourself at risk of serious injury if you hire these vehicles, and on top of that, many travel insurance policies won’t cover such activities.”

A YouGov survey of 2,000 people carried out for Abta found that one in 10 British holidaymakers who had been overseas in the last 12 months had hired a quad bike or moped - equivalent to 4.5 million people. The proportion rose to one in seven among 18 to 24-year-olds.

The industry body said quad bikes had become increasingly popular, particularly in places such as Greece, Cape Verde and Turkey, and that hiring mopeds was common among British travellers in countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. It said the vehicles offer little protection in an accident.

Abta also said people with limited experience on mopeds should think twice before hiring them overseas and that tourists should only ride quad bikes if they are part of a properly supervised off-road excursion. It said accidents could leave holidaymakers with unaffordable medical bills, because many standard travel insurance policies do not cover accidents involving quad bikes.

Hiring a car, taking a taxi or using public transport are all safer alternatives, it said.