A YOUNG boy who was killed running across a motorway could have acted out of panic, a Preston inquest heard.

Gary McGovarin, seven, was hit by a car travelling at 70mph in the fast lane of the M61.

The driver involved, Doctor Derek Leslie from Cheadle, told the hearing: "I was horrified to see four small figures run across a busy motorway. I just shouted "Oh my God" and that was it. Then I heard a bang."

An eyewitness - off duty police officer Peter Lawson - said all had their arms high in the air and his first instinct was that they were playing games running across the motorway.

His mother Mrs Janet Cunliffe, of Seven Acres, Clayton Brook, near Chorley, found him lying in the road after being told about the accident.

Investigations revealed that when the boys were going home, they heard the voices of older boys. Believing they were going to be chased, they decided to cross the motorway.

PC David Mather told the hearing there could have been some degree of panic or fright.

The inquest also heard that a fence which should have prevented access to the motorway had been broken.

Coroner Howard McCann recorded a verdict of accidental death.

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