UK

William Brown: Police make arrest after boy, 7, killed in crash in Folkestone

William Brown: Police make arrest after boy, 7, killed in crash in Folkestone

A man has been arrested after a seven-year-old boy died in a crash involving two vehicles in Kent.

The 49-year-old, from Dymchurch, was detained on Thursday afternoon and remains in custody.

William Brown died at the scene after the collision, which took place at around 5.35pm on Wednesday on the A259 Sandgate Esplanade near its junction with Prospect Road in Folkestone.

Police and ambulance crews attended the incident, but, despite efforts to save his life, he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two vehicles involved were an unidentified car or van and a red Citroen car, police said.

William’s father, also called William Brown, earlier appealed to the driver to hand themselves in to police.

Flowers and messages left at the  scene in Sandgate, near Folkestone, after seven-year-old William Brown was killed in a hit-and-run, whilst he was collecting his football from the road on Monday when he was knocked down and "left dying" in the street. Picture date: Thursday December 7, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Folkestone. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire
Image:
Flowers and messages left at the scene

Fighting back tears, Mr Brown said in a video that his son was hit while “trying to collect his football.”

He urged people to contact police if they “have any information at all, any inkling, or anything you saw when you drove past, or anything at all.”

Flowers and messages left at the  scene in Sandgate, near Folkestone, after seven-year-old William Brown was killed in a hit-and-run, whilst he was collecting his football from the road on Monday when he was knocked down and "left dying" in the street. Picture date: Thursday December 7, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story POLICE Folkestone. Photo credit should read: Gareth Fuller/PA Wire

At one point, Mr Brown held up his son’s football shirt.

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News App. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.