A FIVE-year-old boy is recovering in hospital after a road accident in Horwich.

Police say Joshua Eckersley, from the Johnson Fold estate, ran out into Ainsworth Avenue at its junction with Makinson Avenue, on Saturday.

The driver of a Rover car, 23-year-old Carl Greenhalgh from Bolton, was unable to avoid the child.

At first it was thought that Joshua had suffered a fractured skull but hospital tests have revealed a more minor head injury and he is recovering at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, where he was in a satisfactory condition.

The driver of the car, who left his details for police at the scene after a hostile crowd gathered, has been questioned by police but officers say independent witnesses have confirmed he was not to blame for the accident.