An 11-year-old boy was hit by a car at a spot where residents have been calling for safety measures.

He was struck outside his home in Vale Road, Seaford, just after 8am yesterday.

He was taken to the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton suffering from heavy bruising and a broken right leg.

Patricia Horrex, who has lived in Vale Road for 50 years, said: “I heard a scream and looked out to see the boy lying in the road.

“It’s a residential area yet people treat it just like a rat run. He is a lovely boy and we just hope he is all right.”

The car, a black Vauxhall Zafira, was being driven by a 35-year-old man accompanied by three passengers.

The driver stopped. The road has been the subject of controversy after a request for traffic calming measures was declined following a council survey.

Simon Armstrong who, with his wife Sam, was involved in the initial campaign, said: “We were talking about this just yesterday and this happening is just horrific.”

Caroline Brereton, a trainee teacher and resident, said: “We want something done. We knew this would happen.”

“It feels like it is safer to drive our kids to school than to let them walk down this road.”

An East Sussex County Council spokesman said: “We did carry out an assessment in August last year which examined the idea of introducing traffic calming measures in Vale Road, but a decision was taken that there were other locations where the need for such a scheme was greater.

“Once the police investigation is complete we will consider whether the circumstances behind this collision merit us looking again at the need for measures.”

Residents plan to move forward with rallying the council for traffic calming measures.

Witnesses can call Sussex Police on 101 or email collis-ion.appeal@sussex.pnn.police.uk, quoting serial 216 of 21/3.