AN EIGHT-YEAR-OLD boy found himself inches away from disaster when a car ran a red light, and narrowly missed “throwing him into the air.”

The Workington pupil was almost struck by a car that was thought to be speeding when he stepped out into the road with his aunt after “waiting for the green man.”

Charlie Holloway and his aunt, Mona Holloway, were on their way to Victoria Junior School at around 8.30am on Friday when a black car ran a red light at the pedestrian crossing on Harrington Road, and missed hitting the young boy by only a couple of feet.

The shaken aunt is now pleading for any witnesses to come forward to help snare the culprit.

“It came so close to us,” Miss Holloway said. “If we’d have stepped out just two seconds earlier, Charlie would have been hit. I don’t think anyone would survive being hit at such a high speed, never mind a little boy like him.”

The car, which was a “similar size to a newer Ford Fiesta” and driven by a woman, was said to be going considerably faster than the speed limit for the road when they failed to stop at the red light.

“I can’t believe there isn’t any CCTV on that road, there should be some sort of protection for pedestrians,” Mona added. “A lollipop person to help us all cross safely, cameras – anything to make the road safer.”

The incident was immediately reported to the police and the school, who were shocked and disappointed that this act of recklessness took place, and has affected one of their pupils.

Executive headteacher of Victoria Junior School, Pauline Robertson, said: “We’re fully aware of the issue, and we’ve been fighting to get our crossing guard back for many years now.

“The safety of our children is of course the most important thing to us, and we need to ask drivers to be vigilant in their driving – be aware of your surroundings, and be more careful.”

Cumbria Police are investigating the incident. Call 101, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111, quoting log number 56 of June 12.