A boy who was dragged along by a bus when it struck him on a crossing could lose part of his foot, his aunt has revealed.

Tammy Barter said her 11-year-old nephew Ryan Gale had already undergone a series of blood transfusions and major operations, including a 12-hour one, to try and save his foot after it was trapped under a bus on Sheen Road on Friday, December 21.

Doctors at St George's Hospital have attempted to save the Christ's School pupil's foot by using skin from his leg, but this has now failed twice.

The new of Ryan's condition comes after initial reports claimed he had only suffered minor injuries.

Tammy said: "Ryan was knocked over on the crossing and the bus ran over his foot and he was dragged underneath.

"When the bus dragged his foot along, half of it was sheared off and it went through the bone.

"They are trying to reconstruct it by taking a flap of skin from his leg but that failed."

Doctors have said Ryan, a keen footballer, could take a year to recover fully, but there is still a 20 per cent chance he could lose the foot altogether if further operations fail.

Tammy said Ryan's parents, Lee Gale and Jackie Cooksley, from Richmond, were at his bedside in intensive care, and were coping with it "as well as any parent with a child in intensive care".

She added: "We just want to save his foot. Ryan is fed up and tired - he wants to come home."