THE parents of an 11-year-old boy who suffered a bleed on his brain after falling off his bike are trying highlight the importance of wearing a helmet.

Thomas Lawrence was cycling without a helmet along Dakota Drive in Chapelford on Saturday, September 22 when he rode into a lamppost.

Passersby stopped to help Thomas as he lay on the floor with a group of young boys ringing for an ambulance.

Thomas’ dad Andrew said: “I was waiting for him to come home and rang to see where he was.

“A man answered his mobile and told me what had happened so I got there straightaway.”

The youngster spoke to the ambulance operator who did not think Thomas was in immediate danger.

After waiting an hour for an ambulance, Andrew took Thomas in his car to Warrington Hospital.

He was sick four times in A&E which prompted doctors to do a scan on Thomas’ head.

This revealed a fractured skull and a frontal bleed on the brain and Thomas was transferred to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

Andrew said: “All the staff were brilliant, it isn’t the paramedic’s fault it took so long to come as they are really stretched. They were very thorough in their checks at Warrington Hospital and the staff who went with him in the ambulance to Alder Hey were fantastic.

“I want to say thank you to Dave Walton, who sat on the ground with Thomas the whole time and to the lads who made sure he was okay.

“The youngsters around Chapelford get a bad name but they all ran up and helped him and rang for an ambulance.”

Thomas, a Great Sankey High School pupil, spent two days at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital before being sent home. He now has a seven-week recovery period ahead.

His parents Andrew and Heather are now determined to highlight how important it is for people to wear a helmet when riding a bike.

Andrew added: “I don’t think it is seen as cool to wear one but they are so important.”

Thomas plays rugby for Crosfields Rugby Club and as a result of the injury, will have to take time out from the team.

Shaun Briscoe, from the Warrington Wolves Foundation, delivered a get well soon card signed by the entire Wolves team for Thomas which dad Andrew described as a ‘touch of class’.

As Thomas is a big Everton fan his parents have organised for a message to be broadcasted on the big screen at Tuesday’s match about wearing a helmet when cycling.