Scooter rider charged with grievous bodily harm after allegedly breaking girl's leg

A man has been charged after a toddler's leg was broken in the Hunter Valley region of NSW on Thursday.

The young girl had to undergo surgery after her leg was broken when a man riding an electric scooter allegedly crashed into her.

Police were told the man lost control and crashed into a four-year-old girl, breaking her leg, at a shopping centre on Main Road in Cardiff at about 10am.

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Police said the man immediately retrieved his scooter and left the scene.

Paramedics treated the girl, who also had a cut to her face, before taking her to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition.

Following inquiries and a public appeal for information, officers from Lake Macquarie Police District arrested a man at Belmont Police Station, around 12.30pm on Friday.

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The 37-year-old was charged with grievous bodily harm by negligent act and with riding an electric scooter on the footpath.

He was granted conditional bail to appear at Belmont Local Court on later this month.