Boy 'shielded' pal from truck

The boys had been playing in a field near Seaham Road

A boy of nine is fighting for his life after police believe he may have shielded his young pal from the full force of a recovery truck.

Both boys are being treated for serious head injuries in Newcastle General Hospital, following the incident in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland on Tuesday night.

Jack Briggs, aged five, and his elder un-named neighbour, were thought to have been hit by the lorry, weighing several tonnes, as they ran out into the road.

By Wednesday afternoon Jack had begun to rally and was described by doctors as stable, but his friend remained in a critical condition.

Police are still investigating whether it was because the older boy had shielded his friend from the full force of the crash and taken the brunt of the impact himself.

Both sets of families were at the hospital bedsides of the children following the incident.

Intensive care

Relatives say a petition was submitted to local councillors a year ago, warning that an accident was "waiting to happen" on the stretch of road where the boys were hurt.

Jack's aunt, Beverly Binks said: "Traffic comes along the road at very high speeds.

"Sometime they come onto the pavement and grass as they turn the bend."

The incident is thought to have happened after the boys ran out from a nearby field where they were playing into the path of the truck, which was driving north along Seaham Road.

They were initially taken to Sunderland Royal Hospital before being moved to the intensive care unit at Newcastle General Hospital.

The road was closed for approximately two-and-a-half hours while police began an investigation.

A spokesman for Northumbria Police said: "We are still looking into the circumstances of exactly what happened in this crash.

'Sunny day'

"The condition of the two youngsters remains the same."

A spokeswoman for the elder boy's family said: "We have only lived here two weeks and he rarely goes out, but it was a sunny day and he wanted to be out with his friend.

"They live next to each other and since we have been here they have been inseparable.

"We were told he may have shielded Jack by putting himself between him and the lorry.

"It is the kind of thing he would do, he was certainly holding his hand as they crossed the road.

"He had a lot of road sense but the wagons come down there at such a speed."