A boy has been left with a fractured skull after being shot while looking for a football.

The 11-year-old was playing with friends in Leyland, Lancashire, when the ball was kicked out of a back garden.

As he climbed a fence to search for it – he was shot in the head by a metal pellet thought to have been fired from an air weapon.

The boy has had surgery and is now recovering at Liverpool’s Alder Hey Hospital, Lancashire Police said.

The shooting happened in Roadtrain Avenue at about 7.20pm on Monday and police are appealing for information.

“This incident has left a young boy with some really significant injuries, and it is fortunate he was not more seriously hurt or even killed,” said Detective Constable Paul Brown.

“We are carrying out a number of enquiries to try and identify the person or persons responsible,” he said.

Read more from Sky News:
Girl, 10, killed in mudslide during school trip
The famous faces who could become MPs

Be the first to get Breaking News

Install the Sky News app for free

He appealed for any witnesses – or people with relevant dashcam or doorbell footage – to get in touch.

“I’m sure someone in the local community knows who is responsible for what’s happened to this young boy and I would urge them to come and speak to us,” said DC Brown.

Related posts:

‘We want this lockdown to be the last’, says PM plans for ‘irreversible’ easing of COVID restrictions More than half of people support Met police handling of Sarah Everard vigil – survey Paralympic world champion ‘speechless’ after being told her sprint briefs ‘too short and inappropriate’ ‘It became normalised’: Ex-parliamentary adviser says Yvette Cooper received 50 death threats a week Pandemic shines ‘harsh light’ on rising obesity in young people In pictures: Storm Franklin fells trees and brings more flooding Jail sentences of two men who kidnapped teen before she was found seriously injured referred for being ‘unduly lenient’ Smiling Queen views hand-crafted artefacts at Windsor to mark Platinum Jubilee Civil servants to go on strike, affecting ports, borders and transport over holiday period More foreign prisoners to be deported to free-up cells First new HIV awareness advert in 40 years to air on TV to challenge stigma ‘Lovely’ XL bully-type dogs seeking homes ‘with secure garden’ before ban comes in, charity says