A woman wept as she recalled a horrific hit-and-run car crash that killed a schoolboy.

Eyewitness Selina Hazelton broke down at the inquest on nine-year-old Callum "CJ" Oakford, who was hit when he tried to cross a busy dual carriageway.

Failed asylum-seeker Kamel Kadri drove off from the scene after his Renault 5 collided with CJ at 4pm on January 1.

Mrs Hazelton was a passenger in a car driving behind Kadri and saw CJ's body hurled into the air by the impact.

Fighting back tears, Mrs Hazelton said: "Two bigger boys ran across and the little one stayed slightly. The first two got to the other side but, as they got there, the little one got hit by the car. It happened very quickly."

CJ, along with his older brother Sam, now 13, and his friend Dominic Davies, 12, had all been playing at Highdown Hill, Worthing, and were on their way home when they decided to cross the A259 at Ferring.

Algerian Kadri, who used a fake passport to get into the country, was overtaking Mrs Hazelton and her husband Robin's Ford when CJ stepped into his path.

Robin Hazelton, from Worthing, was driving when he spotted the three boys.

He said: "As we were coming up to them, a car overtook us. As it overtook, the boys decided to cross the road. The younger one hesitated and, because of his hesitation, he got hit by the car."

CJ's tearful mother Lynn, 42, of May Close, Worthing, had not known her sons and their friend had walked miles to a base they had made from a fallen tree.

She said: "I saw CJ two hours before the crash at home. He was going to play PlayStation with his friends."

Mrs Oakford, who was accompanied by her two daughters Kathryn, 22, and Sarah, 19, was too upset to comment after the hearing in Arundel Town Hall.

Sergeant Philip Nicholas said Dominic Davies told police CJ stepped into the road on his own after misunderstanding older brother Sam's plan to cross the road when it was clear.

In a statement Dominic said: "Sam said, 'We'll cross when there's a big enough gap'.

"I did not see the accident. Something went into the air, like a log, and I realised it was Callum."

Dominic believed Callum misheard the words "We'll cross".

Pathologist Dr Mark Appleton told the inquest CJ suffered blunt head injuries and would have died almost instantly.

Accident investigator PC Michael Scott said the A259 had a 50mph limit and a crossing point was about 100 metres away from the crash. He said Kadri would not have had a lot of time to react and explained how it would have been difficult to see CJ in the failing light.

PC Scott said he could not estimate how fast Kadri was driving because there were no tyre marks at the scene. He stressed this did not mean Kadri did not try to brake before the impact, only that the Renault 5's tyres did not lock.

PC Scott said: "This tragic incident occurred very quickly and was due to Callum mishearing or misunderstanding when the lads were going to cross the road. The whole incident happened in about three to four seconds."

Kadri drove off after the accident on January 1 but was later caught in Worthing.

The Algerian told police he thought he was driving about 55 to 60mph at the time of the crash.

Kadri was originally jailed for eight months at Chichester Crown Court in January for failing to stop after an accident and other motoring offences. The sentence was extended by a further 16 months for having a fake passport.

A legal technicality meant Judge Anthony Thorpe had to reduce the prison term by two months, sparking national uproar.

CJ's family launched a campaign calling for a change in motoring laws so drivers convicted of hit-and-run offences would be more severely punished. Mrs Oakford and her children collected tens of thousands of signatures for a petition backing the changes before delivering it to 10 Downing Street.

Coroner Roger Stone recorded a verdict of accidental death.