Boy aged nine rushed to hospital in one of two serious accidents

Motorcyclists injured in separate incident at Comrie

A nine-year-old boy was rushed to hospital yesterday after two major crashes in west Perthshire.

The child was knocked down in Crieff yesterday afternoon at an accident blackspot on Broich Road, close to Crieff Primary School and the new Aldi store.

Half an hour later, a serious accident also forced the closure of the A85 at Comrie for a number of hours.

Emergency services rushed to the scenes and witnesses described seeing a man administrating first aid to the young child in Crieff before paramedics arrived.

He was taken to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee but the extent of his injuries were unknown.

Two male motorcyclists were also airlifted to Ninewells after their bikes were involved in a crash near Tullybannocher Farm, Comrie, shortly after 4pm.

Witnesses said the men were both conscious and talking to paramedics at the scene, although the full extent of their injuries was unknown last night.

One of the bikers is understood to have suffered a serious leg injury.

The road was closed in both directions by emergency services and traffic was said to be heavy both ways, with police urging motorists to try to avoid the area if possible.

Broich Road has long been an area of concern after a woman suffered serious injuries in 2015 when she was pinned against a wall by a bus.

Last year Perth and Kinross Council set aside £320,000 to carry out road safety improvements on the blackspot, but work has yet to begin.

Craig Finlay, a former community councillor and road safety campaigner, believes the pavements are too narrow at certain points along the road.

Mr Finlay said: “Any news of a child being injured in a road traffic accident on Broich Road is extremely concerning.

“The road is too narrow and should not be near a school.”

The campaigner urged Perth and Kinross Council to take their new Drive Safe Walk Safe campaign to Crieff and to implement the new road safety measures promised to the Perthshire town.

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “The road traffic collision occurred at around 3.30pm on Broich Road in Crieff involving a pedestrian, aged nine.”

The road is too narrow and should not be near a school. CRAIG FINLAY