A FIVE-YEAR-OLD Bolton boy was crushed to death under the wheels of a bus after a day out at a Lancashire theme park.

The boy was with his family outside Camelot, near Chorley, when he was struck by the single decker bus at 6pm on Sunday night.

Police say he was playing football with a group of other children in the car park when he was hit. His parents watched in horror as the bus struck the youngster, causing him serious head injuries.

Paramedics rushed to the theme park and the North West Air Ambulance was called out, but the boy is believed to have died instantly and the helicopter was not required.

A police investigation was launched into the accident and the driver of the Stagecoach bus was arrested. He was taken to Chorley police station and was still being questioned on Monday.

Officers from Lancashire's Road Policing Unit cordoned off the car park as accident investigators examined the scene.

A post mortem examination is being carried out to find out the exact cause of the boy's death.

He is believed to have been at the theme park with a large group of family and friends.

The coroner has been informed and an inquest is due to open later this week.

It is believed scores of people saw the accident after enjoying a day out at the popular tourist attraction.

Camelot said the accident happened an hour after the theme park closed at a spot in the car park some distance from area's public bus stop.

The bus involved was on a local service between Preston and Wigan.

Roy Page, chief executive of Prime Resorts Ltd, which owns Camelot, said: "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies are with the child's family at this distressing time."

A spokesman for Stagecoach said it was co-operating fully with police.

An ambulance service spokesman said: "We were called to the car park at Camelot after reports a child had been knocked down by a bus. He sustained head injuries and appeared to be dead at the scene."

The accident took place a week after a bus struck a group of people outside a theme park in Ingoldmells, Lincs, killing five.

It also came three days after 16-year-old Hayley Williams died when she fell from a roller coaster at the Oakwood theme park in Pembrokeshire.