Distraught mother won't know extent of her 10-year-old son's brain injury until he wakes from coma after he was hit by bus

A distraught mother whose 10-year-old son was hit by a bus says she won't know the extent of his brain injury until he wakes from a coma.

Harrison Sahlah had been trying to find his lost £5 note when he was struck by the coach near Folkestone, Kent, on Saturday, June 29 at 6.20pm.

The schoolboy was flown by air ambulance to King's College Hospital in London for treatment and has since been placed into a medically-induced coma.

His mother Kelly Sahlah said the bus hit her son on the right side of his head and face and that she now has no idea whether her child has suffered any lasting brain damage.

'He is in a stable condition and is still in a medically-induced coma to protect his brain. He has a significant brain injury but we won't know the extent of the effects of the damage until he wakes,' she said.

'Police are still investigating but he was hit by the bus on the right side of his head and face only and has no other injury, marks or bruises anywhere else.'

Following the incident, Harrison lost two front teeth, his mother said in a Facebook post.

She has since continued updating her friends and family on her personal page with the latest posted on Tuesday reading: 'Nice stable night for H. Nearly 60 hours since the incident. Let's hope for continued stability and good news today.'

Police are now investigating the collision.

Mrs Sahlah claimed the crash took place on the dropped kerb outside the family home,

'He was crossing the road with his friend to retrace his steps as he had dropped a five pound note earlier that afternoon,' She added.

A GoFundme page has been set up by Adell Reeves, a close friend of Harrison's parents Kelly and Khaled. Set up earlier this week, the page has since raised more than £3,000 so far out of a £5,000 target.

It reads: 'As a community and friends, I would love to see us come together to support them as a family. Everyone who knows them already knows they have been through quite a lot already.

'From the bottom of my heart, let's give them some time to heal and support them. I asked to do this for them on their behalf so it's one less stress for them to worry about.'

A Stagecoach spokesperson said: 'We can confirm that a route 102 bus travelling towards Folkestone was involved in the incident on Sandgate Esplanade at around 6.15pm on Saturday. All our thoughts and well wishes are for the boy and his family.

'This is a horrifying incident for everyone involved and we are providing full support to the police investigation into what happened.'

The crash happened in the same area where seven-year-old Will Brown was killed. The young boy was hit by two vehicles on the A259 Sandgate Esplanade in December.