A TWELVE-YEAR-OLD girl is in a critical condition in hospital today following a road accident near her home yesterday.

She was in a collision with a car on Broom Lane, Ushaw Moor, near Durham, at around 3.45pm.

Police said the girl appeared to step out onto the road into the path of an oncoming blue Ford Ka, 100-metres west of the junction with Valley View.

She suffered serious head injuries, a suspected broken wrist and cuts to the chin, and was airlifted by ambulance helicopter to The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, where her condition was initially described as, "serious, but stable", but she was today said to be "critical".

The 43-year-old female driver of the car, who is from the Durham area, was said to have been shaken but otherwise unhurt.

She was travelling in an eastwards direction, towards nearby Deerness Sports Centre, in Ushaw Moor, at the time of the accident.

Broom Lane was closed for around an hour after the incident while police attended at the scene.

Any witnesses are asked to contact Durham Police's accident investigation unit, on 0345-60 60 365.