FEARS have been raised over the safety of a road after a 10-year-old boy was seriously injured.

The boy, named locally as Freddie Perry, suffered a serious head injury in an accident involving a black Nissan Micra on Tuesday night in Oxford Crescent, Didcot.

Paramedics arrived at the scene shortly after 5.30pm and the boy was taken to Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

The road was closed for several hours while investigations were carried out by the emergency services. Last night, Thames Valley Police confirmed that he was still in hospital but could not give an update on his condition.

People in the area have spoken of their shock but have said the road is well known for speeding issues despite leading to Didcot Girls’ School in nearby Manor Crescent.

One Oxford Crescent resident, who asked not to be named, said: “It’s quite notorious, my car got hit at the back in February when it was parked on the corner where the accident happened.”

Oxfordshire county councillor for Didcot Ladygrove, Neville Harris, said last night that speeding was “a problem in and around Didcot”.

He added: “There is a tendency to respect speed limits near schools but there seems to be ongoing, irresolvable problems about speeding in the whole area.”

Didcot West county councillor Nick Hards said he didn’t think speeding was an issue and added: “There are so many parked cars in Oxford Crescent it’s hard to get any speed up at all.”

Another resident who wished to remain anonymous said that many children play in between parked cars in the road.

She said: “They ride their bikes between the cars and drivers also go too fast down the road.”

Maria Farrington, 16, who attends Didcot Girls’ School and knows the boy’s family, said: “We are just shocked and really sad to hear about it.”

Stephen Freeman Community Primary School, which the boy attends, did not wish to comment.