A BOY sitting on his bike on a pavement was crushed against a shop wall after a car driven by a 17-year-old careered out of control. It is believed the boy only survived because he was wedged against a box outside the shop.

Niall Rhodes, aged five, suffered two broken legs, a broken arm, thigh, ankle, shoulder and elbow when he was trapped against the Walkden store. He was treated by paramedics as firefighters battled to free him.

Niall, of Westminster Road, Walkden, was today seriously ill in the Royal Bolton Hospital.

The accident happened at 3.45pm yesterday at the junction of Hilton Lane and Newearth Road. A police spokesman said a Ford Fiesta driven by Neil Patterson, of Hilton Lane, Walkden, swerved out of control at a mini roundabout in Newearth Road.

Niall spent two hours undergoing emergency surgery at the hospital last night.

His father, Andy, said Niall was on his bike putting the paper wrapper from his ice cream into a paper bin when the car mounted the pavement.

Niall, a pupil at Mesnelea Primary School, is expected to remain in hospital for eight weeks.

Mr Rhodes said: "He was in great pain last night, but we are grateful that he did not suffer more serious injuries, although the injuries he does have are serious enough."

Niall was with his auntie Diane Sunter, his cousin and brother Declan, aged four, when the accident occurred.

Mr Rhodes said he and his wife Jennifer had driven past the scene and asked a policeman what had happened. "He said there had been a crash involving a little boy. It never twigged it was one of ours."

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