A schoolboy who fractured his skull and broke his limbs and pelvis when he was hit by a falling branch in Richmond Park is back at school full time.

Sacha Saucek, 8, was taking part in a school trip with classmates and teachers from Kew Riverside Primary in July last year when he was struck by the branch which broke his limbs, ribs, pelvis and gave him a brain injury.

FROM JULY 2015: Boy hit by falling branch in Richmond Park opens his eyes

He underwent surgery after being taken to hospital by ambulance and began at a new school, Westende Junior School in Wokingham, in January.

His mother, Jo, said physically he was doing reasonably well though he will need another operation in the summer and will have the metal taken out of his leg in July.

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Sacha with his older brother Luka building a den in Bracknell Forest

Ms Saucek, who works at Richmond charity Me Too & Co, said: “With brain injuries though, you can’t make any predictions for a couple of years afterwards so that is all really unknown.

“It is a very hard adjustment as he was top of his class and was used to finding things quite easy so it is very frustrating for him.”

Sacha, who has a younger sister and an older brother, collects stones and crystals and would like to be a geologist when he is older.

Shortly before his accident he was presented with an award by comedian Jack Whitehall for a short story entered in the Screen Your Story Competition in Barnes.

A Go Fund Me page set up to assist Sacha’s family, who were moving home during the time of the accident, has raised more than £17,000.

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Sacha was hit by the branch while on a school trip in Richmond Park

Ms Saucek had hoped to recover some compensation to help pay for Sacha’s treatment from the Royal Parks but the claim was denied after a Health and Safety Executive investigation did not find a breach of duty or negligence.

A spokesman from the Royal Parks said areas of woodland were categorised by how many people walked through and how much traffic travelled through the area, and trees were maintained accordingly.

The incident occurred in a category two and three zone, meaning it was a medium low risk area which had a relatively low amount of visitors.

Of the 170,000 trees across the Royal Parks, 100,000 are in Richmond Park.