AN INVESTIGATION has started after a police van hit an 11-year-old boy in Lancaster. 

The boy went to Royal Lancaster Infirmary in a critical condition.

Lancashire Police said that the collision occurred when they were attending an emergency call on Thursday night. The van hit the boy when he was crossing Owen Road just before 8.30pm. 

The incident has now been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). 

A police spokesperson said: "Our thoughts are with the child’s loved ones at this time.

“An investigation is under way to establish the full circumstances that led to the collision. We have voluntarily referred this matter to the IOPC, as is standard with an incident of this nature.”

The IOPC said in a statement: "We understand that a marked police van, with its lights and sirens on, was in a collision with an 11-year-old boy,

“We were notified by the force shortly after the collision and declared an investigation at 10.37pm. IOPC investigators are heading to the scene and the police post-incident procedure to begin gathering information.”