Children critical after hit-and-run - The Press Association

(UKPA) – 3 hours ago 

Police are searching for the driver of a car involved in a hit-and-run that has left a toddler and his 10-year-old sister in a critical condition.

Raham Saleem, two, and his sister Sabam were struck as they walked home after buying onions for the family's Eid celebrations.

West Yorkshire Police said the driver of the silver Vauxhall Astra slowed down to see what had happened after hitting the children in the Hyde Park area of Leeds on Saturday evening, then sped away from the scene.

The siblings underwent surgery at Leeds General Infirmary where they remained in a critical condition.

Detective Superintendent Paul Taylor of the homicide and major inquiry team who is leading the investigation, said: "We are very concerned about their condition."

Having walked only a couple of hundred yards from the shop, the pair crossed near the Makkah Masjid Mosque. The road is used as a cut through locally, but has speed bumps, Mr Taylor said.

Detectives know the car is a mark four model, meaning it was made between 1998 and 2005.

"We know the vehicle slowed down and we know they have then sped off," he said. "I would appeal to that driver to come forward so he or she can tell us what happened."

CCTV has already been examined and experts will study more footage in a bid to identify the car's registration number.

"This is a small, close-knit community and people want to help," the detective said.

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