Young child killed in tragic accident after hiding under van in game of hide-and-seek with friends

Lancashire Police has opened an investigation to establish exactly how the tragedy in Penwortham occurred - Credit: Jack (submitted to Lancashire Post)

An eight-year-old boy has been killed in a tragic accident while out playing hide-and-seek with his friends in Lancashire.

Emergency services were called to reports of a accident involving a black Ford transit van and a child in Penwortham at around 4.20pm in the afternoon on Tuesday (August 1). Two air ambulances rushed to the scene and took the boy to Royal Preston Hospital, but he sadly died a short time later.

The child was reportedly out and about enjoying a game of hide-and-seek with friends and had decided to hide under the vehicle. It is believed that the driver got into the vehicle and set off, completely unaware that the child was lying beneath the van.

Lancashire Police, who has opened an investigation to establish exactly what happened, paid tribute to the young boy in the following statement: "Our thoughts are very much with his family, friends and the wider community as they come to terms with such a heart-breaking incident.” A police spokesperson added that the boy’s family are being supported by specially-trained officers. The force would like to speak to any witnesses, or anybody with CCTV or dashcam, who has not yet spoken to an officer."

The superintendent of the force's South Division, Gary Crowe, added: "First and foremost we send our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the boy who died. This was a heart-breaking incident and they will be in our thoughts for a very long time.

“We also appreciate the impact this will have had on the wider community and we thank them for their understanding and patience while we carried out a meticulous analysis of the scene yesterday. We are now determined to get answers about what occurred and are appealing for anybody with information to come forward.

"If you saw the collision, or saw either the boy or the van in the moments before it happened, please get in touch. Similarly if you have dashcam or CCTV and have not yet spoken to officers, please contact us.”

Anyone with information is asked to get in touch by phoning 101 and quoting the log number 701 for August 1.