A young boy suffered a fractured skull after he was shot in the head when he climbed over a fence to look for his ball.

The boy, 11, was playing football with friends in the back garden of a house in Roadtrain Avenue, Leyland, at around 7.20pm on Monday (May 20).

As the boy climbed the fence to look over, he was hit in the head by a metal pellet fired from what police believe to be an air weapon.

He suffered a fractured skull and was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool for surgery, where he is now recovering.

An investigation is underway to find the person responsible.

Det Con Paul Brown, of South CID, said: “This incident has left a young boy with some really significant injuries, and it is fortunate he was not more seriously hurt or even killed.

“We are carrying out a number of enquiries to try and identify the person or persons responsible and I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened, has any dashcam or Ring doorbell footage, or who has any information which could assist our investigation to get in touch.

“I’m sure someone in the local community knows who is responsible for what’s happened to this young boy and I would urge them to come and speak to us.”

Anyone with information should call 101 quoting log 1410 of May 20 or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.