A GRANDMOTHER was sent flying through a plate glass shop front after an out of control market float crashed into her in the High Street.

But the accident has brought conflicting reports from witnesses over who was at the wheel of the vehicle at the time of the smash.

Some say it was a child and others claim it was an adult.

The electric float careered into 59-year-old Sylvia Wright as she walked through the market with her daughter and grandchildren on Saturday at 5pm.

Passers-by were alerted by sounds of smashing glass from Michael Young's China Store and the cries of Mrs Wright.

The truck described as a cross between a milk float and a fork-lift truck belongs to Coopers fruit traders on the market and is used for moving goods onto the stall.

Shoppers told the Guardian it was 'hijacked' by a young child who pushed the throttle down and sent the float speeding toward shoppers.

But other eye witnesses have told us they saw an adult at the wheel of the vehicle.

No one at Coopers was available for comment on the exact details of what happened.

Mrs Wright was paying a shopping visit to the market with her daughter and grandchildren from Seven Kings.

The grandmother, who suffered leg injuries, said: "I didn't see who was driving. I turned around and saw this truck coming towards me.

"It pushed me into the shop. I lay on the ground and glass came down on me. I was screaming my leg! my leg! and a lot of people came around me to help."

The owner of the china store, Lawrence Young, said: "It was a great horror to see her come through the window and the poor woman lying there with the children screaming over her.

"Thankfully it didn't hit the grandchildren because it could have killed them."

Police say inquiries are continuing but add they are keen to trace a black boy, around five to six years of age, wearing an orange shirt and shorts who was seen running away from the incident.

Anyone with information should contact PC Kevin Newitt at town centre police on 0181-345-3270.

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