A 12-YEAR-old schoolboy had a miraculous escape after he was mown down by a hit and run driver and left at the side of the road.

Jack Lapskas, a pupil at Winton College, was cycling home from school when he was hit from behind by a car and thrown into the air.

He and his bike were catapulted over the bonnet of the car and landed heavily in the road, when the driver then ran over the bike and Jack’s ankle.

But miraculously, the bike took the brunt of the impact and Jack escaped with minor cuts and bruises.

Mum Nadine, senior assistant headteacher at Glenmoor and Winton schools, said: “We cannot believe he is not more seriously injured. He has said that after he went over the bonnet, he remembered seeing the car still moving and managed to move his head out of the way.

“How can somebody do that to a child? They just left him there and it was lucky his friend was just a couple of minutes behind him and came across him.”

The collision occurred at 3.45pm on Friday on Wimborne Road, opposite Pizza Hut, near Muscliffe Lane.

“He said a car just came out of nowhere and hit his back wheel. They went over the bonnet and the driver then continued over his bike and ankle and sped away down Muscliffe Lane,” said Nadine, who lives in Muscliff with her firefighter husband, Jack and two younger children.

“We took him to the Bournemouth accident and emergency where they were quite shocked that he hadn’t broken anything.

“We don’t know how he has managed to get away with bumps and bruises but we are just glad that he has. We know it could so easily have been different.”

Jack believes the car that hit him was a blue saloon car, probably a Volkswagen Bora or possibly a Vauxhall Astra or Vectra, that had been modified with boy racer-type features.

Dorset Police are appealing for any witnesses or anyone with information about the incident to call them on 01202 222222 or call the free and anonymous Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111, where mobile phone tariffs may apply.