A teenager was taken to hospital after being knocked down by a car in Northfleet.

Swan Valley School pupil Ryan Cann, 13, was crossing High Street at the junction with Council Avenue when the acident happened just after 3.30pm on Tuesday.

Ryan, who lives in East Kent Avenue, was conscious but is believed to have suffered a broken ankle and finger, and a cut to his head.

He was on his way to meet his mum, Louise Scott, in Gravesend town centre. Miss Scott was telephoned by a friend who saw the accident near Lawn Road Primary School.

Mother-of-four Miss Scott told the Messenger at the scene: “By the sound of it I think he went right over the bonnet.”

She added that her son may not have been looking properly as he crossed, but she said the road was not safe.

“Cars come by here really fast. There’s no safe way to cross and it’s very dangerous. Fortunately, because a bus was just pulling away at the time this guy was only doing about 20mph.

“But it’s only time before somebody gets badly hurt.”

In November last year the Gravesend Messenger reported parents feared for their children’s safety on that stretch of road outside Lawn Road Primary School.

Seven Avenue’s Residents’ Association chairman Peter Scollard had been campaigning for a pedestrian crossing for three years but was turned down by KCC which cited budget constraints and said the road wasn’t deemed “safety critical”.