A 10 year-old boy cycling to begin his last week of term before the summer holidays died this morning after being involved in a collision with a lorry in Wisbech.
The accident blocked Weasenham Lane for much of the day as police and investigators began to piece together how the tragedy happened. 'I work across from where it happened and was one of the people who called 999,' said one factory worker. 'It was a very sad scene.'
Throughout the day police worked to find out more about the incident and visited local factories in the busy industrial hinterland off Weasenham Lane for possible witnesses.
One lorry driver making deliveries to a local potato factory said police had twice called in to check if the company had CCTV that might help.
'As a father of two it was heart wrenching hearing the news,' he said. 'We were just discussing the collision when police arrived and it was the first time we knew that a boy had died.'
Emergency services said they were called at 8.36am to reports of a collision in Weasenham Lane involving a lorry and a boy riding a bike.
A police spokesman said: 'Sadly the boy died at the scene.'
The road remained closed in both directions until mid afternoon and delays built up as motorists found alternative routes.
Anyone who witnessed the collision should contact the Road Policing Unit on 101 quoting CC-16072018-0100.
On social media hundreds offered condolences to the family of the dead boy.
Some posts named the family offering condolences to his parents: one had the poignant but simple message to them of 'hold on'.
Another wrote: 'He was only 10 years old and he was on his bike going to school.
'That boy was my son's friend and they live next to us. My son is his age; I still cannot believe this has happened.'
One parent said it was too early to determine the cause but she was adamant Weasenham Lane, jam packed at that time of day with lorries and commercial traffic, is not a suitable place for pedestrians or cyclists.
'Schools shouldn't be near industrial areas,' she said. 'As both a parent and a driver of a vehicle I couldn't not express how I would feel in words in this situation.'
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