A SPEEDING driver knocked a young girl down and then swore at her mum before driving off.

Ten-year-old Emily Moorhouse was rushed to hospital after the accident, which happened just yards from her Linthwaite home.

Her dad, 44-year-old Eddie, said: “Hopefully she will mend, but I’m more concerned about her mental state than her physical state.”

The accident happened just after 6pm on Tuesday when Emily and mum Sharon were walking on Causeway Side back to their home at Waingate.

Eddie said: “My wife was on one side of the road and Emily was crossing over. A car came speeding down the road, doing about 50mph in a 30mph zone.

“My wife called out to Emily to get out of the way, but she collided with the side of the car, breaking the wing-mirror.

“Emily was sent rolling into a gutter and my wife screamed.”

The driver then got out of the black Vauxhall Corsa.

Eddie said: “He swore as he said to my wife ‘she shouldn’t have been in the road’. Then he got back in his car and drove off without checking if Emily was OK.”

The driver is white and in his early 20s. He has blonde hair, a moustache and a beard. He was wearing baggy jeans, a blue striped jumper and a woolly hat.

Family friend Donna Barker took Emily to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where she was treated for a sprained knee and hip.

Eddie, who works as a truck driver, says many young drivers speed along Causeway Side and Waingate.

He said: “Every night people drive past at 40 or 50mph. I’m sick to the back teeth with these boy racers. They need to be educated about the dangers of their driving before someone is seriously hurt.”

A police spokeswoman said: “Officers would like to speak to the driver and would ask them to come forward.”

Phone traffic police on 01484 436847.