POLICE are urging witnesses to come forward after an 11-year-old pedestrian was knocked down by a car near a school.

The 11-year-old boy was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg after being injured on A49 Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, near to Hope Academy on Thursday afternoon.

The car, a Renault Captur, stopped at the scene.

An investigation is continuing and police are keeping an open mind about what happened.

A police spokesman said: "We received a report of an road traffic collision near Hope Academy on Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows that an 11-year-old boy, who was walking at the time, had been involved in a collision with a Renault car.

"Police and ambulance attended and the boy was taken to hospital for a suspected broken leg."

Anyone with information or who witnessed the incident is asked to contact the social media desk @MerPolCC, call our Roads Policing Team on (0151) 777 4757, or call 101 with reference 621 of 18 October.