'They've ruined my life and I need to know why'

Kirsty Pickering says she is "lucky to be alive" after being struck by a car in a hit-and-run

A woman who said she was "left for dead" in a hit-and-run incident has called on the driver to hand themselves in.

Kirsty Pickering, 38, from Stockport, said she was hit as she got out of her van on Stockport West Road in Bredbury just before 16:00 BST on 6 October.

Ms Pickering said she was knocked unconscious and woke up "in a significant amount of pain" and surrounded by emergency services.

"I went to shut the van, I turned and the last thing I remember was black - that was a black vehicle swerving into me," she said.

Ms Pickering says she has lost her livelihood as a dog walker

Ms Pickering is still in hospital with broken bones in her foot, leg, arm and ribs, as well as injuries to her face and head.

She said her recovery was expected to take months, and she may require further surgery.

"I am literally black and blue from head to toe," she said.

"I'm lucky to be alive. They said if I was a child I wouldn't have had a chance."

Ms Pickering, a self-employed dog walker and single mother to a nine-year-old son, said her work van was also written off in the crash, and her son was being cared for by her parents.

She said she had been left with no income and had only seen her son for once since the incident.

"It's literally ruined my life and my son's life," she added.

'Heartless'

Ms Pickering she was left "very sad and very angry" that the driver did not stop.

"For someone to drive away and leave me on the road... they're clearly heartless," she said.

"I need to know who did it, why they did and why they drove away."

Ms Pickering called for anyone who had information or footage from the time of the crash to come forward.

"No matter how small they think it may be, please forward it to the police, for me and my son," she added.

Greater Manchester Police said it was investigating, but that no arrests had been made.