A grief-stricken father today paid tribute to his seven-year-old son after he was knocked down and killed at a pedestrian crossing.

Raouff Hussain suffered massive head injuries when he was involved in a collision with a Peugeot 306 car on Manchester Road in Bradford.

A police spokesman said the accident happened at a temporary pelican crossing between the A641's junctions with Marshfield Street and Burnett Avenue in the Marshfields area of the city.

Today Raouff's father, Ibrar Ahmed, 40, of Boynton Street, said the whole family was devastated by the tragedy.

He said: "We don't know the full story yet and are still in shock really at the moment.

"He'd just been out playing with a couple of his friends - we just can't believe what's happened.''

Raouff, a pupil at St Stephen's C of E Primary School, leaves his father, mother Saeeda Naz, three brothers and a sister.

Fighting back the tears Mr Ahmed said Raouff had been looking forward to a family outing to the Bradford Mela yesterday.

He said prior to Saturday night's accident the family had also planned to mark his youngest son Haroon's fifth birthday with a party yesterday.

He said: "We were very proud of Raouff - he was confident and doing very well at school.

"He had lots of friends and loved riding his bike.

"He was a fun-loving boy who enjoyed life and was happy and cheerful all the time.''

Mr Ahmed added that relatives, friends and members of the local community had rallied round and were supporting the family.

A neighbour said: "It's an absolute tragedy - he was a lovely boy and his family are totally devastated.

''Everyone's shocked by what's happened.''

Abdul Butt, who runs Bostan Newsagents on Manchester Road close to the scene of the accident, said he had 'frozen' after rushing outside to be confronted by the sight of the accident scene.

He said: "I couldn't sleep at all afterwards thinking about what had happened.

"He was a lovely boy who used to come in the shop a lot. He was very polite and had a good sense of humour.''

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Metropolitan Ambulance Service said the driver of the car was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary suffering from shock.

A police investigation into the accident has been launched and a post mortem examination was expected to be carried out today.

Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with any information about the incident, which happened at 8.45pm, to call (01274) 376459.