Three held over mosque boy's hit-and-run death

Three men have been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving after an 11-year-old boy was killed in a hit-and-run outside a mosque.

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that two men, including one aged 19, handed themselves in at Ashton-under-Lyne police station. A third man was arrested.

All three suspects remain in police custody.

Police said one of the men has also been arrested on suspicion of driving while unfit through drink or drugs.

The schoolboy, who has not been officially identified, had been at a nearby mosque with his family when he was hit by a car in Moss Street West at the junction with Mowbray Street in Ashton-under-Lyne at 4.45pm on Monday.

He died in hospital shortly afterwards.

The imam of Mosque Hamza, Shayful Islam, told the Manchester Evening News it happened after prayers and the "whole community is in shock and praying for the family".

He said the boy had "quite happily came out of the mosque. As he crossed the road there was a car driving at a really fast speed and he got run over".

GMP said the car, believed to be a dark grey or black Mercedes A or B class, did not stop at the scene.

Sergeant Paul Higgins, of the serious collision investigation unit, said: "A child has tragically been killed in a collision and we are doing all we can to trace the driver of the vehicle.

"While we are in the early stages of our investigation we believe the car involved is a dark grey or black Mercedes A or B class and it will have damage to the front nearside headlight.

"We would ask if anyone saw the vehicle around the time of the collision, or has seen it since, that they contact us.

"It may be the vehicle has been parked up and left somewhere nearby so I would ask people living in the area to check outside their house and call us if they see a vehicle matching the description."