A tearful 16-year-old boy has admitted driving a stolen van which hit a three-year-old child and left him fighting for his life.
The teenager covered his face with his right hand and mumbled his guilty pleas to charges over the incident in which Leo Durrington was critically injured.
The injured child, who is still in hospital with his family at his bedside, was hit by a stolen white Ford Transit Connect van being followed by police in Wigan Road in Leigh, Greater Manchester, at around 10.35am on Tuesday.
The driver, who cannot be named because of his age, appeared at Wigan Youth Court on Thursday.
He admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving, failing to stop for police, failing to stop after a collision, driving without a licence, driving without insurance and a handling charge for the stolen van.
He welled up with emotion after entering his guilty pleas and was led away by prison officers as the case was adjourned until Thursday afternoon.
A co-accused, aged 15, who is on bail, stood next to his mother in front of the magistrates’ bench, and looked down as he admitted the single charge of allowing himself to be carried in a stolen vehicle.
The boy, wearing jeans, a T-shirt and trainers, gulped as the chair of the bench warned him not to leave the building over lunch before the court resumed at 2pm.
No further details of the incident were given after the pleas were entered.
James Gore, prosecuting, was expected to give further details about the incident when the hearing resumes later, although sentencing was not expected to take place.
The 16-year-old was also due in court on November 15, accused of other motoring offences, before the crash involving the child, the court heard.