This is the battered face of 11-year-old Shropshire schoolboy Matthew Harrison who was struck by a car travelling at just 10mph.

His mother Sally today said that if the driver had been going any faster Matthew could have been killed. She is now calling for improved safety around schools and lower speed limits.

Matthew, who attends Burton Borough School in Newport, was hit last Wednesday after he ran in front of a car at the turning between Boughey Road and Granville Avenue.

Mrs Harrison said: “All I can say is thank God the driver was going slowly. It was completely Matthew’s fault – he dashed out into the road.

“The injuries he received are shocking, especially as the car was only travelling at 10mph.

“We are so grateful that the driver was going slowly had she been travelling any quicker, or even at the speed limit, he could have been seriously injured or killed.

“She had slowed right down because she was aware schoolchildren were around her.

“Matthew then ran out and she hit him with the bonnet which he rolled across before ending up on the floor.”

Matthew required stitches for a gash to his head and also fractured his thumb but otherwise escaped with cuts and bruises.

Mrs Harrison said improved safety around schools is needed with slower speed limits and more crossings.

“It’s frightening to think that the driver was travelling at 20mph below the speed limit,” she said.

“Newport is packed with schools but they are all on roads that have either a 20mph or 30mph limit.

“It’s chaos. There are so many schools in such a small space. You have kids in the sixth-form at Adams’ Grammar whizzing around, parents dropping their children off at school and Harper students in a rush to get to lectures.

“Drivers need to be aware but more crossings and more lollipop ladies are needed, especially on Wellington Road where there is both Newport Girl’s High School and Moorfield Primary.”

Matthew has now returned to school but his mum said he is still shaken by the incident.

She said: “It has shaken him and his friends who saw what happened and ran off in a panic because they thought he was dead.

“But I would like to thank the two men in a white van who helped and the woman who found out my address and went to get my husband. The staff at the Princess Royal were fantastic too.”

By Joseph Masi