A girl has suffered a fractured skull after a collision with a bus while she was on her bike in Blackrod yesterday, Friday.

Kasey Alker, 9, was out on her bike at around 6.30pm when she crossed the road at the corner of Vicarage Road going onto New Street.

After riding into the road, the Blackrod Church School pupil collided with a bus.

Her older sister Chloe Alker, 21, said she was taken to Manchester Children's Hospital where she has been in surgery today, Saturday, for seven hours.

Stacey Alker, Kasey’s mum, said the "spirit of Blackrod" came together to support her and Kasey following the awful incident.

She said: “Kasey just keeps waking up, going to sleep, waking up and it is just a nightmare, an absolute nightmare.

“I feel empty and numb since the incident happened, but I cannot fault the hospital, the treatment Kasey has received is just second to none.

“I went into the room and there was about six doctors and nurses all waiting for Kasey and I just cried because I was so overwhelmed, it has been so fantastic.

“As a family we have cried a lot, cried a hell of a lot.

“I found out about the accident after a gentlemen rang me off her phone to say that she had been in an accident, I couldn’t get up there and I don’t know who it was, but they came for me and took me up to Kasey.

“The spirit of Blackrod just came together, it was overwhelming really."

Chloe added: “Kasey has cannulas and wires in her arms, an oxygen tube going up to her nose in case of any air getting trapped in her stomach and she is just out of it completely.

“She has got butterfly stitches going up from her eye socket to her head, she has a fractured eye socket, and she has got a split in her head that is filled with butterfly stitches.”

Stacey and Chloe said they now want to spread awareness of how vital it is for children to wear helmets as Kasey was not wearing one at the time of the incident.

Stacey said: “I just really need to raise awareness of helmets.

“My daughter went out wearing a helmet and she is always wearing a helmet, everyone in Blackrod sees her wearing one, and the one time she doesn’t wear a helmet, this happens.

“It is so serious that I need to raise awareness of wearing a helmet, it might not be cool, but it is there to protect the skull.”

Chloe has also reinforced how important it is to wear a helmet.

She added: “Kasey is not stupid by any means- my mum says to her every day that she goes out to keep her helmet on.

“If children think it’s cool to not wear a helmet then they need to think twice, all parents need to make sure their child understands that no matter how daft or stupid they may look wearing a helmet, their most important organ is protected."

The family are now also appealing for helmets to be donated to Blackrod Community Centre to make sure every child has one while riding their bikes.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson confirmed officers were called to the incident last night and a girl was taken to hospital for treatment.

If you have any information about the incident contact police on 101.

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.