A FAMILY had a lucky escape after they were involved in a hit and run accident on a busy road near Pershore.

James Innes was on his way back from a dentist appointment in Worcester with his fianceJade Swainson and two of his four children Jake, 12, and Aiden, 3, when they collided with a Volkswagen Golf on the A44 near the Peopleton junction.

The 31-year-old, of Station Road, Pinvin, who was driving a blue Ford Focus estate managed to swerve and avoid hitting the car head-on but hit the back of it as he did so.

The family escaped serious injury in the crash on January 22 but suffered bruising and his partner, 21, who is 34 weeks pregnant, was taken to Worcestershire Royal Hospital to be checked over.

Mr Innes said the elderly driver of the Golf initially remained at the scene, then drove off before the police arrived.

Luckily Mr Innes was only driving at 45mph in the 60mph speed limit when the incident happened, something which he believes saved his family's lives.

"We came round the corner approaching the traffic island and a car parked just moved out and stopped in the middle of the road. He turned right in front of me," he said.

"I got past the island and braked. Lucky there wasn't any cars coming the other way. I was going slower than I usually go on that road. It could have ended up a lot different. We're very lucky."

The man driving the Golf drove off toward the centre of Peopleton without giving his details and before the emergency services arrived. He did not appear to have any visible injuries.

Mr Innes, who had new brakes and tyres fitted a matter of days before the accident, is now calling for the 60mph limit to be reduced to 40mph.

"There's a turning into an old people's home there," he said. "Because of the nature with the bend, if we were going at 60mph we would all be dead now."

Witnesses described the Golf as being either silver or gold coloured and was either a 13 or 11 plate. The collision left it with very noticeable damage to its rear near wing and bumper and when it drove off the bumper was hanging from the rear and the nearside rear lights were out.

The driver was described as being white, aged between 75 and 80, around 6ft tall, of slim build and he had grey or light-coloured hair and as being well dressed and well spoken.

He also wore a hearing aid in his right ear.

Sergeant Simon Hallam, who is dealing with the incident, said: “As well as the driver being heavily pregnant she had two young boys as passengers, so I am thankful no one was injured because this had the potential to have been quite serious.

“I am hoping that the man who left the scene of the collision, which is an offence, misunderstood the situation rather than there being any criminal intent on his part.

"Therefore, I would like to appeal to him directly to contact the police at the earliest opportunity. I believe the man will probably be local, so I am appealing to anyone in the Pershore area who may recognise the distinctive description of the car or the man involved to contact us.”

Anyone with information should call 101.