A BABY had a miraculous escape when his pram was crushed by car which ploughed into his mother - leaving her seriously injured - as she pushed him along the pavement,

Amazingly two-year-old Jack Hudson escaped from his mangled pram with only a bump on his forehead.

But his mother Janet Hudson, aged 35, of Wearish Lane, Westhoughton, suffered serious head and leg injuries in the horrific accident in Wigan Road yesterday.

A spokesman at Bolton General Hospital said this lunchtime that the badly injured mother was "poorly but stable".

A police spokesman said Mrs Hudson was hit from behind by a car which mounted the pavement.

A shocked passerby said: "It is amazing the little boy is all right. The pram was in a terrible state but he was just sitting there very still.

"His mother was lying on the pavement unconscious."

Mrs Hudson had been taking her daughter Lorraine, 10, to school when she met her mother who agreed to drop her grand-daughter off so the young mum could return home.

Grandmother Mrs Teresa Higham later arrived at the accident scene and realised her daughter was involved. Today Mrs Hudson's husband, Kenneth, said Jack had had a restless night but seemed better this morning.

He said: "He is missing his mum. He knows what happened, that he was hit by a car."

Mr Hudson is still vague about the details of the accident, which happened outside the Mavita Riding School, and said: "I do not want to know anything about it at the minute. I just want to see Janet back on the mend."

But he praised off duty paramedic John Farrington was on his way to work at Highfield ambulance station, Bolton when he spotted the aftermath of the accident and treated Mrs Hudson at the scene.

Mr Farrington said: "At first I thought two cars had had a bump but then I saw a woman lying on the pavement.

"The little lad was sat in his pushchair. It was all bent and buckled but he seemed OK so I concentrated on his mum. She seemed to have a serious head injury." Mr Farrington used equipment from a passing ambulance to treat Mrs Hudson at the scene until a paramedic unit arrived and rushed mother and baby to Bolton General.

The driver of a Honda Civic car involved, 22-year-old Linda Latimer of Common Street, Hart Common, was not injured.

She is believed to have been driving home from night work at the time of the accident.

Police investigating the incident, which happened at 8.40am yesterday, are appealing for witnesses.

Anyone who can help is asked to contact the Bolton Police traffic unit, tel: 0161 856 5972

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