Hove residents’ speeding concerns after child injured in hit and run crash

An eight-year-old boy was taken to hospital with serious injuries after being hit by a car in New Church Road, Hove, on Friday night.

Police said the youngster was on his scooter when he was struck by a white car at the junction with Pembroke Gardens. The car then drove off.

A Pembroke Gardens resident said the road has become a “rat run” of speeding cars since lockdown.

“Unfortunately, the road seem to become a bit of a hub for drug run during lockdown and antisocial behaviour,” he said.

“I used to sit in my office which looks out onto the road and see drug deals happening. People pulling up in cars next to the green area.

“And it has become a bit of a rat run. People drive down the road very fast and sometimes use it as a bit of a race track.

“A lot of people now use the road as a way of avoiding the traffic lights on New Church Road, so the number of cars that come down here is increasing.”

He said it was not unusual for children to play in the street and green area next to Hove Museum and Art Gallery.

“As there is a green space next to the museum, naturally the children on the road play in there and in the street,” he said.

“We’ve got two grandchildren who often ride down there on their bikes as they do, so it is of concern.

“The council did put in a bollard area to make the road have more of a junction, but cars still come around and zoom up the road.”

The road has a 20mph speed limit, but a New Church Road resident said it’s common for cars to speed down Pembroke Gardens.

“The average car speed along the road is more than 20mph,” she said.

“I know that probably is the case in a lot of residential roads, but when something like this happens, it really does make you stop and think.”

Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash which happened at about 9.10pm on Friday.

If you witnessed it or captured it on dashcam, email collision.appeal@sussex.police.uk, quoting serial 1418 of 01/07.