Police are hunting a hit-and-run driver who fled the scene after hitting a 12-year-old boy and leaving him in a serious condition in hospital in an early morning incident.

The boy is thought to have been crossing a junction in Lidget Green at around 7.40am yesterday morning.

Police are now poring over CCTV footage, some from cameras mounted on local businesses, in a bid to track down the vehicle.

Police said the youngster had to be taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary, where he was described as being in a serious but stable condition, following the incident at the junction of Beckside Road and Legrams Lane, Bradford.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “A 12-year-old boy was crossing Legrams Lane when he was in collision with a car that failed to stop at the scene. The boy is in a serious but stable condition in hospital.”

Residents and workers in the area were yesterday left shocked by the incident.

Kaisar Rasab, manager of the Co-operative store in Beckside Road, said it was believed the vehicle involved in the incident drove off down Legrams Lane without stopping.

He said: “Lots of people were around here talking about it.

“The whole junction was closed off.

“We had about ten police vehicles and crime scene investigators around here.”

Amjad Ali, who works at MR Travel, in Beckside Road, opposite where the collision occurred, said the road was not particularly dangerous, although he had seen children running across without using the crossing. It is not yet known whether the boy was using the designated crossing or not.

He said: “It’s not a dangerous road, we have been living around here for more than six years.

“But some kids just run across the road.

“Some children are just three or four-years-old, and they just run across the road without using the crossing.”

Mohammed Altaf, owner of Al Noor bakery, in Beckside Road, said: “I set off to work at 8am and it took me an hour to get into work.

“I only live ten minutes away.

“There was so much traffic and police – when I came here I saw the police standing outside near the shop, stopping cars.”

Anyone with any information about the collision has been asked to contact PC 5309 Pickard or PC 6222 Judge at Bradford South Roads Policing Unit on 0845 6060606.