A SCHOOLBOY is recovering after being in collision with a car as he cycled to buy some chips with his friends.

James Whitaker, aged 11, suffered two broken bones in his leg, a broken collarbone and broken arm following the incident near Cherry Orchard road in Pershore.

"He's in a wheelchair at the moment because he can't get around on his own and is in quite a bit of pain," said his mother Jo.

Mrs Whitaker was on the phone to her husband Darren - who was working away in Scotland - when her son's young friend called at the family's Pershore home to tell her James was hurt.

"I ran down to the road and couldn't believe it when I saw him lying in the road in a pool of blood surrounded by people," said Mrs Whitaker, a mother of three.

"James was screaming 'I'm going to die, don't let me die', which was terrible. His arm was lying above his head and his leg was in a funny position."

She said an off-duty policeman gave James first aid before paramedics arrived and took him to a playing field at the nearby Pershore Football Club where a police helicopter picked him up and transported him to Selly Oak Hospital in Birmingham.

James was later transferred to the Birmingham Children's Hospital.

"He had to have a general anaesthetic so they could insert a 10-inch plate in his leg, as well as various scans and tests, because they didn't know at first whether he had damaged his neck," said Mrs Whitaker.

Mr Whitaker, who was working 450 miles away in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen, contacted his firm, TES Firbimatic UK Ltd, in Pershore, and he was told to catch a taxi home and the company would pay the £600 bill.

"He couldn't get a plane or train until the next morning so he left Scotland, by taxi, at around 11pm and arrived back at 6am. His firm is fantastic," said Mrs Whitaker.

James spent a week in hospital before being allowed home following the incident, which happened on Thursday, July 30 at 9.45pm but has only recently come to light.

"He has been having nightmares about it all and is very down about not being able to go out on his skateboard or play football. I don't want to think about the possible long-term effects."

A 42-year-old man has been charged with driving without due care and attention, failing to stop and driving without insurance. He is due to appear before Worcester magistrates on Thursday, August 26.