Moira: One-year-old boy dies after serious crash in County Down village

The one-year-old boy who died in a lorry crash in Moira, County Down, was Frank Michael McIlduff from College Grove, Lurgan.

Police said he died at the scene after the single vehicle collision in Meeting Street at about 13:40 GMT.

A woman in her 60s, who is believed to be Frank's grandmother, was taken to hospital with serious injuries.

Police, two ambulances, two ambulance officers and a hazardous area response team were dispatched to the incident.

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) deployed three fire appliances to the scene - two from Lurgan and one from Lisburn - as well as a specialist rescue team from Central fire station in Belfast.

In a statement the NIFRS area commander Dermott Rooney said: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the loved ones of a boy who tragically lost his life and a woman who was seriously injured.

"This is a very challenging incident for everyone involved and I would like to commend our firefighters and our control room colleagues for the professional way in which they responded to this terrible tragedy."

'Shockwaves'

Democratic Unionist Party councillor Caleb McCready said the community was devastated.

"There are shockwaves through the village. I have been contacted by many constituents about it and it's heart wrenching," he said.

A community group was planning to start a fundraiser for the family, he added.

BBC News NI understands that the child was in a pram that was being pushed by the child's grandmother.

Joanne Crockard, who lives in Moira, was walking on Meeting Street at the time.

"I turned a corner and there was a horrific scene in front of me," she told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"A local butcher was helping with the grandmother.

"A lot of local people were there, crying and in shock. I shouted to the Presbyterian minister to come over and say a few words."

Councillor Caleb McCready said the community was devastated

Church of Ireland minister Reverend Joanne Megarrell said people in the area who witnessed the incident were traumatised.

"The family has lost a little one and the grandmother is in hospital," she said.

Alliance Party assembly member David Honeyford extended his condolences to the child's family.

"My own father in law came out of a cafe in the village and was met by the sight - it is tragic," he said.

"The village will come together to support the family," he added.

Main Street was closed following the incident, but reopened in the early hours of Thursday.