Mother's appeal after hit-and-run

The schoolboy was preparing to take his GCSEs

A mother has appealed to a hit-and-run driver who knocked down her teenage son and left him for dead to come forward with the truth.

Jean Phillipe Lemoi suffered severe head injuries when he was hit by the car on a country lane on 12 November in Gillingham.

On Monday, he was still unconscious and critically ill at a hospital in London.

Sue Uings, his mother, said: "There's no way the driver didn't know they had hit someone."

Plea for truth

She added: "I don't know how anyone could have driven off.

"You get in a car, put your headlights on - the main beams - even in a dark road you would know. You should be watching the road."

Appealing to the driver, she said: "You have to tell us the truth. That is what I've taught my children.

"It's better to face the truth and deal with the truth and be honest if you have done something wrong."

A driver failed to stop at the scene of the accident in a country road

The 15-year-old was walking with two friends along Hempstead Road towards Capstone Road at about 2045 GMT when he was hit.

His friends say the vehicle was travelling at speed.

The teenager has had two operations and is expected to have reconstructive surgery on his skull.

Detective Inspector David Holmes, of Kent Police, said: "I can only speculate that the driver was perhaps a disqualified driver, a drunk driver, or an uninsured driver.

"Alternatively, somebody panicked and didn't know what to do.

"What I would say to them now, is come forward and you will be treated fairly."