A YOUNG boy is recovering in hospital today after suffering head injuries when his bike collided with a van in a Suffolk street.Michael Clarke, who is believed to be eight or nine-years-old, was flown to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge yesterday afternoon after the accident in Norwich Road, Barham.

A YOUNG boy is recovering in hospital today after suffering head injuries when his bike collided with a van in a Suffolk street.

Michael Clarke, who is believed to be eight or nine-years-old, was flown to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge yesterday afternoon after the accident in Norwich Road, Barham.

Jackie Davis, who was first at the scene, said the youngster was lying unconscious in the street in the moments after the accident.

The 43-year-old called an ambulance and waited with Matthew until paramedics arrived.

She said: “I was hanging the washing on the line and heard a bang.

“The boy was knocked out. He came to and they tried to put him in an ordinary (land) ambulance to start with but he was fighting and screaming.

“He hadn't got a clue what had happened.”

Mrs Davis, who lives opposite the scene of the accident said another young boy had come over to assist and she had sent him to get the boy's parents.

She said Matthew's dad had then arrived on scene and gone with his son to the hospital.

Matthew was eventually taken by air ambulance to Addenbrooke's.

The collision happened at about 4.45pm yesterday and forced police to close Norwich Road.

Accident investigators were on scene until about 6pm when the road reopened.

Reports suggested that the youngster had been hit by a lorry but police today confirmed the collision involved a white Volkswagen van.

Matthew, who was initially said to be 14 but is now thought to be younger, was believed to have suffered serious head injuries.

However, a spokesman at the hospital today said he had made good progress and was due to be moved out of paediatric intensive care some time today.

People in the village said it was not the first time an accident had happened at the traffic island, on the edge of Claydon and Barham.

A few weeks ago a taxi hit the island, which has been in place for less than a year.

Meanwhile, a second youngster suffered bumps and bruises in a separate accident in Ipswich.

At 7.20pm a 10-year-old boy, who is also believed to have been riding a push bike, suffered bumps and bruises when he was involved in a collision with a Ford Galaxy, also on a Norwich Road, close to the junction with Ashcroft Road in Ipswich.

A spokeswoman for the East Anglian Ambulance service said the youngster was taken to Ipswich Hospital to be treated.

Did you witness the accident? Write to: Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN or e-mail: eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk.