An eight-year-old girl was left lying battered and bruised on the roadside by a hit-and-run driver.

Abbi Stratford was crossing Preston Road, in Abingdon, when she was struck by a red car and flung on to a grass verge.

The driver turned around in Midget Close and swore at the girl in front of a dozen young children, including her terrified brother and sister, before speeding off towards Drayton Road.

She spent the night in hospital with severe bruising to her face.

Abbi's mother Jo, of Grebe Close, in Abingdon, said she wanted police to trace the driver.

She said: "He definitely knew he hit her. He stopped and turned round and saw her. But he still left her there by the road.

"We don't know if Abbi was at fault, but to knock her down and then not even stop makes him the lowest of the low.

"Everybody has mobile phones - it would not have been hard for him to dial 999."

The youngster had been enjoying a youth club night at Preston Road Community Centre last Thursday.

She left the youth club at about 7.30pm with friends and accompanied by brother Joshua, 10, and sister Megan, 12, for the 10-minute walk home.

While crossing Preston Road at the junction with Midget Close, she was hit by the red car.

Her brother banged on the car's bonnet shouting "you've run over my sister", but it sped off.

The car is believed to be a red Vauxhall with a stripe either on the bonnet, or side of the car, and a spoiler on the back.

The car had no hubcaps and the driver was wearing a baseball cap.

Mrs Stratford said: "I keep thinking I've seen the car. There were so many children around at the time it is scary. I'd like to speak to the driver and show him what he did to Abbie before he drove off."

The youngster was taken to accident and emergency at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford with a black eye and a bruised and swollen face.

She also suffered grazes to her face and back and a bruised kidney.

Pc Stuart Webber, of Abingdon police station, said: "We are appealing for anyone who may have seen the car or the driver at the time of the collision, and for anyone who recognises the description of the car to come forward. The young girl was deeply shaken after this.

"She suffered relatively minor injuries and it is only through luck that her injuries are not worse."

Anyone with information should contact police on 08458 505505 or speak anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.