A paperboy who suffered a brain injury after being hit by a lorry has been told he is entitled to compensation.

Joshua Smith had applied for the position at the Co-op in Staffordshire just after his 13th birthday in 2005, the Staffordshire Sentinel reports.

However, days after beginning the job, he was hit by a vehicle being driven by Mark Hammond.

The victim suffered a fractured pelvis, an open head wound, a ruptured kidney, bruised lungs, cuts and bruises and a brain injury.

He now has short-term memory problems and is likely to need care later in life.

This week, a judge deemed that Mr Hammond was partly responsible for the accident as his brakes were faulty.

The amount of compensation Joshua will be entitled to is to be decided at a later date.

According to the Department for Transport, there were 28,572 people killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads in 2008.