The mother of a nine-year-old Thornton Heath boy, fighting for his life after a hit and run accident, has made an emotional plea to the driver of the car to turn himself in.

Linda Tobin, 41, does not know if her son Stephen will survive the terrible head injuries he received in the accident at Biggin Hill, South Norwood, on Saturday (March 2).

The youngster was crossing the road at the junction of Arkell Grove just after 2.30pm when a car knocked him over the vehicle's roof and carried on driving towards St Oswald's Road.

Horrified residents raced out to help Stephen before an air ambulance landed in the street and took him to Royal London Hospital. Doctors have told Stephen's family that if he survives, he will almost certainly be brain damaged.

The boy's distraught mother said: "I want the person who did this to take a long, hard look at what they've done to my son and turn themselves in.

"My baby's lying there like a robot surrounded by tubes and machines. I keep holding his hands but he is so cold. Stephen's brain is so swollen that he has to be constantly kept under heavy sedation. His doctors won't even tell us if there is any chance of survival.

"A priest gave Stephen last rites at his bedside just in case he leaves us. It's in God's hands now."

Stephen lives with his mother, brother and two sisters in Hawthorn Avenue in Thornton Heath. His older sister Ashling, who turned 23 on Monday, also lives in Hawthorn Avenue with her partner and two children.

Linda added: "Stephen is a loveable and funny boy. He's been the man of the house since his father passed away two years ago. I don't know what I'll do if I lose him too."

Police are trying to trace the blue saloon car involved, which could be a Renault Laguna or Megane with a R or V prefix. It may have suffered frontal damage in the collision. Call the Catford traffic garage on 020 8284 5925.

q Residents of Biggin Hill have been campaigning for speed humps in the road for the last eight years.

Betty Kulka said: "It's a rat run. People come flying down this road because it is the only one in the area without speed humps on it. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened."

A council spokesman said the implementation of traffic calming measures were prioritised by looking at the accident rate on a particular road.