A TRAFFIC police officer has urged parents not to let their children cross a busy dual carriageway where an 11-year-old boy was critically injured in a road accident.

The boy, who was living in a private children's home in Rossendale, had been crossing the Rawtenstall to Edenfield by-pass with a friend at 6.40pm on Wednesday when he was struck by two vehicles.

He is in the intensive care unit of the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, Pendlebury, where his parents are at his bedside.

He has shown some signs of improvement and is slowly being taken off the sedation.

PC Brendan Watson said: "It is difficult enough for an adult to be able to gauge the speed of a vehicle so it must be even harder for a child.

"When a youngster is crossing a normal road the traffic is going at about 30mph. To cross this road, the equivalent of a motorway with four lanes, the traffic is going at 105ft a second.

"I can't stress enough that it is a difficult road for children to cross and they should not be doing so unsupervised.

"It is not the first time that there has been an accident on this stretch and there is nothing to say there could not be another in the next five minutes."

He said even if there was a footbridge or underpass there was no guarantee it would be used. Closing footpaths was a nightmare because of the requisite legislation.

The road has claimed the life of two pedestrians, a 12-year-old schoolboy and a 33-year-old man, in the last eight years.

Police are investigating the accident and have appealed for anyone who was travelling on the road at that time to come forward.

PC Watson said he had four witnesses to the incident and statements had been taken from two already. The friend who was with the injured boy had also been interviewed.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: "We will wait for the results of the police investigation before seeing if anything can or should be done."

After the 12-year-old was killed, Lancashire County Council put lights next to the crossing places on the unlit stretch of road and barriers next to the footpaths.