A girl training to do wheelies on a homemade device in London had a hilarious fail as the strap securing her broke, causing her to fall backwards into a hedge.

The hilarious video took place at the girl's home in East Finchley, London on July 22, and was filmed by her father.

The contraption she was testing her skills on is called a “manual machine”, as a manual is a biking trick/technique sometimes described as a “wheelie without pedalling”.

The girl's father had built the manual machine using several YouTube videos as a guideline, so both he and his daughter could practice wheelies by "finding the balance point" of the bike, or the highest point one can raise a bike without falling.

The strap securing the back wheel came loose, causing the girl to fall fully backwards into the bush.

Her father commented: "Sophie was totally fine. Unlike the garden light and plant she landed on.

"Having said that, we now use a helmet even on a static manual machine despite surviving unscathed the first time."

A video of my daughter falling into a hedge seems to be going nuts on Instagram.

Took place at home in East Finchley, London. 22 July, 2018. It features my daughter Sophie, 17.

The contraption is called a “manual machine.” A manual is a biking trick/technique best described as a “wheelie without pedalling”. Wheelies and manuals can be hard to learn as they can be scary if you get them wrong and also require a decent space to practice. This contraption is based on a few YouTube videos I’d watched a while back. Sophie an I made it one sunny Saturday out of scraps of wood as we were bored and, quite frankly, we’re both crap at wheelies. The contraption allows you to hold the bike upright, clamping the back wheel. You can then “find the balance point” where you can hold a manual. Most people are way below the balance point and discover this via the machine. One risk is that you go past the balance point and fall off the back. The strap was a late addition to mitigate this. It was a ratchet strap and the hook in the end wasn’t really secured. I later put a zip tie around it. But this video shows the moment when we had that epiphany.

Sophie was totally fine. Unlike the garden light and plant she landed on.

She loves watching skills videos and often pops up to Sheffield to play in the real hills. Not many round London way.

What do I think of the helmet debate on that IG account? I’m totally for helmets. There seem to be 3 types of people. Those who wear them because it’s sensible. Those who use logic to weigh up the risks of it not being sensible. And those who have had an accident or two and credit their helmet with saving them from severe injury. I’m in group 3, with a toe in group 1. I have no objection to folk not wearing a helmet, as long as it’s their personal choice and isn’t promoted as a viable option to children.

Having said that, we now use a helmet even on a static manual machine despite surviving unscathed the first time.