Toddler killed as lorry hits wall which collapses on him in Stechford, Birmingham

A one-year-old boy has been killed in what appears to have been a freak accident when what was described as a recovery truck hit a wall which collapsed onto him in Stechford, West Midlands.

Police are appealing for witnesses to the incident, which took place in Queens Road, Stechford, east of Birmingham city centre at around 5pm today (16 March 2015).

Despite frantic efforts to save the boy, he suffered serious head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. He has not yet been formally identified.

West Midlands Police Inspector Paul Bennett said: "This is a very tragic set of circumstances – words cannot describe what his family are going through and our thoughts are with them at this time.

"Specialist officers will be supporting the boy's family and – as with all serious and fatal collisions – an investigation has been launched to establish the cause."

A West Midlands ambulance service spokesperson said: "A rapid response vehicle was on scene within four minutes of the call and was backed up by an ambulance, a paramedic officer, an emergency doctor and the Warwickshire and Northamptonshire air ambulance.

"Ambulance staff carried out advanced life support but sadly nothing could be done to save him and he was confirmed dead at the scene."

Local people took to social media to express their sadness at the tragedy and also to send messages of support for the ambulance crew and police who dealt with the tragedy.

Leanne Henson wrote: "Such awful news. Can't imagine what the parents are going through. RIP little one."

Karen Cooper tweeted: "such awful incident my heart goes out to those dealing with it . it must be so hard to deal with such."

Queens Road will remain closed for some time as police investigate what happened. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the police on 101 and ask for the Collision Investigation Unit quoting log 1637 16/3/2015.