Car hits schoolboy

A HEATHFIELD mother has spoken out after a hit-and-run driver mounted a pavement and struck her nine-year-old son on his way to school.

Dale Chapman, of Leeves Close, was walking to school on Tuesday morning when the wing mirror of a passing car struck him on his arm. The impact spun him round and threw him into a bush.

His mum, Teresa, this week appealed for witnesses and called for greater protection for pedestrians in the area.

The incident comes just two weeks after the Express revealed how a Heathfield resident was struck by a passing car in the same part of town.

Dale, a pupil at Cross-in-Hand School, was walking along Ghyll Road and had reached the junction with Tilsmore Road when the near disaster happened.

He said: 'I was walking along with a friend when this car just came up on to the pavement and hit me. I ve got a really big bruise on my arm now. The car was going quite fast.

Mrs Chapman added: 'It was only a five minute walk to school you wouldn t expect this kind of thing to happen. The car hit him so hard he was thrown into a nearby hedge.

'I feel particularly bad because I usually take him to school myself, but on Monday I let him walk to school with a friend. But nonetheless, he was walking on the pavement and he should have been safe. It really shook him up he doesn t want to walk along that stretch of road anymore. There should be more protection for pedestrians.

Dale described the car as grey/white in colour and added that it was driven by a man. There were other children and parents walking down that stretch of road at the time.

Last month, the Express reported how Tilsmore Road resident Brian Hamper was struck on the arm by a wing mirror while walking his dog. Mr Hamper said that the road was being used as a rat run by motorists and warned that somebody would soon be killed if something wasn t done to tackle the problem.

A police spokesman said: 'We would urge motorists to observe speed limits and also to not drive faster than the road conditions dictate. Anybody with information on the incident should contact Sussex Police on 0845 6070999.