Lucky escape for boy hit by rat-run car

JAMES with parents Steven and Janine and (inset) the head injuries he suffered

A MUM whose son was knocked down is calling for traffic-calming measurers on her street before a child is killed.

James Gamblen escaped with cuts, bumps and bruises when he was hit by a car on Rydal Avenue, Chadderton.

The seven-year-old spent a night in hospital after undergoing a CT scan to rule out serious injuries, but his mum Janine (38) fears that the next child might not be so lucky.

She said that the road is a rat-run for speeding drivers and is renewing her call for speed bumps or chicanes to to slow them down.

The car which hit the St Matthew’s Primary School pupil on Friday evening was not speeding and Mrs Gamblen stressed that she did not blame the driver because James had stepped out into the road from behind an ice-cream van.

Mrs Gamblen said: “His dad saw it and I heard it. When I got out he was up and walking but this bump came up on his head.

“We are lucky that the person who hit him was local. She knew the road so she wasn’t going particularly fast.

“If it had been someone using it as a cut through he probably would be dead.”

Mrs Gamblen said she had previously asked Oldham Council to install traffic-calming measurers and had contacted the council again this week.

She added: “The traffic on this road is a nightmare. It is quite long and you can pick quite a bit of speed up.

“It is a side road, it is a residential area and there are a lot of children who play out.

“James wasn’t seriously injured, but the next child won’t be so lucky.”

Councillor Mark Alcock, cabinet member for infrastructure, said: “I am sorry that James has been injured and I am glad to hear that he is okay.

“I will take this to the traffic section and get them to look into it to see what we can do.”