A 32-YEAR-OLD man was being questioned by police today after a teenager was killed by a hit and run driver in Burnley.

Anthony Tattersall, 13, of Wiswell Drive, Rawtenstall, was taken to Pendlebury Hospital in Manchester after the accident in Centenary Way on Saturday.

His parents were too upset to speak about the tragedy today.

The man, believed to be from Burnley, was arrested by officers yesterday and was being held at Burnley police station today.

Police said Anthony, a pupil Alder Grange High School, Rawtenstall, was crossing the road with a group of friends after visiting the nearby bowling alley when he was struck by a car close to the slip road with Finsley Gate.

They said the driver did not stop. Police closed the road for several hours on Saturday evening as they made an extensive search of the scene looking for clues.

There were a number of witnesses to the accident and the registration number of the vehicle was given to detectives. The vehicle was recovered from Cog Lane in Burnley after a member of the public phoned police yesterday afternoon. It had extensive damage to the front.

The search for the driver was led by a team of detectives, headed by Detective Inspector Tony Ronnan of Pennine Division.

He said: "On Saturday night at 5.25pm there was a serious collision involving a 13-year-old boy from Rossendale.

"Together with a group of friends, he was crossing Centenary Way, by the slip road, Finsley Gate.

"He crossed first and was struck by a car coming up Centenary Way, towards Manchester Road.

"He received serious injuries and was transferred to Pendlebury Hospital in Manchester.

"The car failed to stop at the scene of the accident and we conducted an extensive search for the vehicle.

"We searched throughout Saturday night and the the vehicle was recovered after a call from a member of the public.

"There were a number of witnesses to the incident, who are being questioned about it. The upshot is that the driver failed to stop and left the boy in the road.

"To have anyone, and such a young person, leave home, and then find that someone has hit them in the road and driven off without stopping, makes this a particularly callous crime."