A three-year-old boy has died after a collision with a tractor on a farm in Bury.

Greater Manchester police (GMP) were called shortly before 12.45pm on Saturday after people in a vehicle carrying a seriously injured child flagged down an ambulance.

Police were scrambled to the scene, but the boy died before he could be taken to hospital.

He had suffered critical injuries after a collision with a tractor on farmland off Bentley Hall Road in the Tottington area of Bury, the force said. The driver of the tractor, who is understood to know the child, was assisting police with their inquiries.

GMP and the Health and Safety Executive investigated the incident. A police cordon was in place for several hours but was lifted later on Saturday. Specialist officers were supporting the family of the boy.

Ch Insp Ian Partington, of GMP’s Bury district, said earlier: “This is a heartbreaking incident that has seen a young boy tragically lose his life and my thoughts go out to his family and loved ones who will be utterly devastated by today’s events.

“Despite his family flagging down an ambulance while driving him towards hospital as quickly as they could, the boy sadly could not be saved after the best efforts of paramedics; I can’t imagine how distressing this was for those involved.

“We are working to ensure that a full investigation is carried out, and the farmland where we understand this incident to have occurred remains cordoned off to allow our investigators and partners from the HSE to conduct thorough inquiries to establish exactly what has occurred here.”