A schoolboy miraculously escaped serious injury after being hit by a van in Halstead High Street.

The 12-year-old had initially crossed the road to retrieve his football but then tried to run back across after seeing his bus pull up opposite.

Dad Glen Mayes-Allen does not blame the driver at all and has spoken out in the hope of encouraging others to use the town’s pedestrian crossings.

SEE TODAY'S HALSTEAD GAZETTE FOR THE FULL STORY