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.

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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.