A TODDLER was knocked down in a hit-and-run incident as she crossed the road with her family.

The girl, thought to be two years old, was crossing St Helens Road, Daubhill, at 12.30pm when she was hit by a car, which then drove off.

Neighbour Rashid Mogradia rushed out of his house to help after he heard the little girl’s screams.

He said: “I heard the collision and the scream of the child.

“To hear a scream of a child for so long, it meant I knew it was a serious incident.

“With another neighbour we did what we could to comfort the family, and give the police the information that they needed.

“I ran into the road to see what had gone on, and I saw the car was momentarily stationary, but within a few seconds it drove off.

“I tried to flag it down — to see if the driver was ok too — but it drove off.

“The girl was crying in agony, and her grandfather held her until the ambulance arrived to take her to hospital.”

Mr Mogradia described the car as a red Vauxhall Astra with an elderly-looking couple inside. The vehicle was driven off towards Bolton town centre.

The child was taken by ambulance to hospital, and it is understood her condition is not thought to be life-threatening.

Police sealed off the road to traffic around the junction of St Helens Road with Lister Street for more than an hour, while the forensic team searched for clues.

Tape was stretched across the pelican crossing.

A police spokesman confirmed that they were called to an incident at lunchtime with reports that a child had been hit by a car, and said inquiries were ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to call 101.