A TEENAGE boy who suffered life-changing injuries in a hit and run crash faces years of recovery, his mum says.

Avril Sawtell was quick on the scene when her 17-year-old son, Ben, was struck by a passing car which failed to stop, on Ledbury Road between Newent and Dymock.

What she saw still haunts her.

She told The Reporter: “He had a broken left leg, and it was an open fracture. I’m surprised I didn’t faint, but the adrenalin rushed in.

"He had a big cut on his head – I was cradling him, reassuring him and letting him know I was there for him.

“The driver had left him for dead, like he was a badger or a deer.”

In addition to the leg and head injury, Ben suffered a fractured neck vertebrae, bruising to his spinal chord, and he has lost the use of his left hand, at least temporarily.

Until the accident, Ben was a keen player of computer games and was learning to drive.

Mrs Sawtell said: “Now, when he’s awake, he’s very distressed and really frustrated.”

Ben, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has already undergone major surgery at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, and more operations lie ahead for the teenager.

Surgeons have taken a muscle from his thigh to help repair his badly damaged left leg, and plastic surgery will be necessary in the future.

The driver involved in the collision did not stop – leaving two of Ben’s friends and the mother of one of the boys, who was walking with them at the time, to deal with a harrowing crisis in the dark.

Ben’s companions phoned for an ambulance and also phoned for his mum to come to the scene as quickly as she could.

Ben lives in Tetbury in the Cotswolds but had been visiting his stepfather in Dymock. He had travelled into Newent, and he and two friends and the mother of one of the boys were walking back along the rural B4215 Ledbury Road - when the accident took place, shortly after 8pm on on February 29.

It was dark, but Ben was wearing a high-viz jacket. He was struck from behind by a car that was heading in the direction of Dymock and Ledbury.

Parts of the car have been found at the scene and they have been examined by police.

A police spokesman said: “The boy was apparently hit by a small dark-coloured car at around 8.15pm, just past the 3 Shires Garden Centre. The vehicle did not stop at the scene and left in the direction of Dymock.”

Gloucestershire police revealed this week that a man has been arrested in connection with the collision.

A 52-year-old man from Newent came forward after seeing media reports about the incident.

Police say he has been arrested “on suspicion of being the driver of a vehicle which failed to stop after a collision and causing serious injury by dangerous driving”.

A vehicle has been recovered for examination and the man has been released, under investigation.

Meanwhile, police are still appealing for information from anyone who witnessed the accident “or has information which might help their enquiries”.

PC Kurt Ravenhill said: “We would like to thank members of the public who have already come forward with information and appeal to anyone who has not already spoken to us to get in touch.

“We are in regular contact with the injured boy’s family, keeping them updated on the progress of the investigation, and wish him well for a full recovery.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Gloucestershire Constabulary on 101 quoting incident 440 of 29 February.

To help with his recovery, and to help cover his mum’s travel costs to the hospital, a Gofundme page has been created.

More than £1,720 has already been raised. To donate, go to bit.ly/2W1fcBu.