Kent hit-and-run death: Dad of 7-year-old boy holds back tears in video appeal for driver to surrender

The devastated father of a young boy who was killed in a tragic hit-and-run incident has made an emotional appeal to the driver responsible to surrender themselves. Seven-year-old William Brown was struck and fatally injured while retrieving his football from the road, and "left dying" in the street. He was pronounced dead at the scene in Sandgate, near Folkestone, in Kent on Wednesday evening as the driver remains at large.

In a video appeal from William's bedroom while holding his son's green football shirt, teary-eyed Will Brown Snr said: "People of Folkestone and Hythe, could you please help us. At 5.35pm last night, Wednesday, November 6, we lost our son who was hit in a hit-and-run trying to collect his football. Can you please help us? If you have any information at all, any inkling, or anything you saw when you drove past, or anything at all."

He added: "Please reach out to Kent Police so we can work out what happened to our son. And if it was you that did it, William Jnr was a beautiful boy and he believed in forgiveness and love, and please, we already forgive you. If it's you, you're feeling guilty, but we really need to know so we can lay our son in peace and know what happened to him."

William leaves behind dad Will, mum Laura, step-mum Vicky Phillips, and a six-year-old sister, Pearl, with whom he was “the best of friends”.

Kent Police said the collision happened on the A259 Sandgate Esplanade, near its junction with Prospect Road. It involved two vehicles - an unidentified car or van and a red Citroen car. The unidentified vehicle left the scene in the direction of Hythe, before the arrival of emergency services.

On Thursday (December 7) evening, police have now confirmed that a 49-year-old man has been arrested and taken to custody following the incident. They have also renewed their appeal for anyone with information or dashcam footage to come forward.

Local residents say they were left traumatised and unable to sleep after the tragic incident. One said: "We're really shaken up by what we saw, we've hardly slept. It's becoming more dangerous crossing that road and there are increasing numbers of people who need to cross it."