Calls for barrier after girl, 9, breaks leg in horror crash

Laurance Hancock from the The Boathouse Youth in Lytham Road, said the youngster was lucky to be alive after the horror smash, and warned a child will be killed unless action is taken.

The girl, who suffered a double left leg break, later underwent surgery for her injuries but is now recovering.

Laurance, who said the girl stepped off the kerb while playing with two friends as they waited for the club to open, said he has twice asked for barriers, but claimed the council said no because it would lead to a loss of parking spaces, even though a seven-year-old boy was also struck two years ago.

“She was one minute laughing and playing, and the next she was hit by a car and on the other side of the road,” he said.

“She just lost sense of where she was, and that’s why I’m so adamant the barriers I have wanted for years would help. If nothing is done, the next time there will be a fatality. This could have been worse. The girl is lucky.”

The crash, which happened at around 6.20pm last Wednesday and involved a Daewoo Matiz being driven by a 31-year-old Blackpool man, saw the road closed for two hours while accident investigation work was carried out by police.

Laurance said he was briefing his staff when he heard one of the girl’s friends ‘deafening hammering’ on the door. He opened it to see her lying in the street and ran over to help.

He said: “She was conscious and breathing but obviously quite distressed and in a lot of pain. I got her head in my hands and told her she was going to be OK.”

Staff at the centre, which is used from 9am to 9pm most days by around 500 members a week, administered first aid and kept the youngster warm before her mum and the emergency services arrived.

She was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where she was being supported by her family.

Her mum said she was playing with her friends, and added: “Yes, I know she shouldn’t have been running across the road. I’m very surprised that she did. This isn’t like her.

“I would like to thank everyone at the scene that helped her. You’re all amazing and I also would like to track the driver of the car to let him know she is OK, and that I’m really sorry this happened.”

The council’s highways boss, Coun Fred Jackson, said town hall officials would look at action that could be taken once a police accident report is received, and added: “We regularly review the resort’s roads to ensure that they are safe as can be.”