TOUCHING floral tributes have been left at the scene of a crash which killed a five-year-old boy.

Yellow and cream roses, with a teddy bear attached, have been placed against a fence and bear the message: "To my baby, Mummy and Daddy love you so much, you will always be with us, such a funny, happy boy xxxxxx."

Other flowers have been left by well-wishers who do not know the little boy who died, who has been named locally as Shane Bartlett.

Jaki Cavaye brought flowers and a single candle to the scene after hearing about the tragedy.

She said: "I don't know the family but I have children myself and can only imagine what they are going through. My heart goes out to them."

Stephen Yates, who witnessed the aftermath of the crash as the emergency services went to work, brought his 10-year-old son Callum to the scene yesterday to lay flowers.

"When you have a kid of your own you really feel the heartbreak of it," he said.

Witnesses told how crowds gathered and people rushed to help after the incident in Naseby Road at 3.54pm on Wednesday.

The five-year-old boy, believed to be a pupil at Winton Primary School, died after a collision with a black Vauxhall Corsa driven by a woman in her 20s.

It is thought that the boy was crossing the road on his way home from school when the collision occurred, near to the junction with Limited Road.

Neil Tarchetti, Headteacher of Winton Primary School, said: “As a close-knit school community I can speak for everyone involved when I say how deeply distressed and devastated we all are to hear about the tragedy that has happened.

“The death of one of our wonderful pupils at such a tender age is very painful and his loss is acutely felt by all within our school community. At just five years old, this well-liked and enthusiastic little boy had his whole future ahead of him. This tragedy leaves his friends, other classmates and children, staff and everyone involved deeply affected.

“We are talking to all the children in school today about what has happened and offering support where needed but you will appreciate it is a very distressing time for all. We offer our sincere condolences to the family, with whom we are in close contact, and in time will work with them to determine a longer term fitting tribute to their son.”

Nearby resident Derick Hitchings, an emergency care assistant, said: "My neighbour from across the road came over and knocked my door in complete panic.

"He told me what had happened and we did everything we could to help - it was a terrible situation."

Another resident added: "I heard a noise outside but I wasn't concerned at first because there are always a lot of children around at that time becaue this road is a cut-through for all the schools around here.

"My mum ran into the room and said there was a child in the road. I think he was with his dad, who was in complete shock. The driver of the car was really shaken up. The air ambulance was also flying overhead."

The road was closed between Limited Road and Easter Road until around 10pm while emergency services dealt with the incident and collision investigators examined the scene.

Police have now appealed for witnesses to come forward..

Sergeant Joe Pardey, of the traffic unit, said: "It is with great sadness for me to say that this young boy died from the injuries he sustained in the collision. Our thoughts are with all his family and friends.

"I am appealing to anyone who witnessed the collision and has yet to speak to officers to please contact Dorset Police.

"I would ask anybody who was in the area at the time to consider any dashcam or CCTV footage they may have which could assist us in our investigation."

The air ambulance landed in a field in East Way.

A spokesperson from the South Western Ambulance Service Trust said the boy was taken to Poole Hospital by a double-crewed land ambulance.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police via dorset.police.uk or by calling 101, quoting 13:269.