Teenager in fight for life after throwing himself in front of car to save his girlfriend's life

William Roberts, 17, and Danielle Watson, 16, were holding hands when a car suddenly came round a corner as they crossed a road near her home in Dover, Kent.

William, from Canterbury, is in a critical condition in a East London hospital and said to have only a 'one in a million' chance of survival. He had just left school and hoped to become a fireman or policeman.

Tragic accident: William and Danielle pictured just days before he was hit

The couple had only been dating for two weeks when the accident happened just yards from Danielle's home.

The devastated teenager today described how William was flung down the street after saving her.

She said: 'It all happened so fast. We were holding hands as we crossed the road near my home when a car came round the corner. I fell forward I felt the car just brush past my hip but Will got hit full on.

'He was thrown down the road. A man walking past saw the whole thing and said Will had pushed me out of the way of the oncoming car, so that it was just him who was hit.

Happier times: William was loved by everyone who knew him

'If Will hadn't done that, we would both be battling for our lives right now - or even be dead. What he did was incredible. I'll never be able to thank him enough. He saved my life.'

Danielle added: 'All I remember is the paramedics working on him in the road and him lying there lifeless. I feel so bad because it should have been both of us, but in that split second he decided to save me. It's the most selfless act anyone can do. I'm just speechless about it.'

Devastated: Danielle

Danielle is seeing a counsellor for the mental trauma she has suffered. 

William has had one operation to relieve pressure and bleeding on his brain. 

He was struck by a Vauxhall Zafira last Monday. There is no suggestion that the 44-year-old driver was speeding.

William's mother, Michelle, 36, is keeping a vigil at her son's bedside in the intensive care unit at Royal London Hospital.

She said: 'From what we have been told by police, he was crossing the road and pushed his girlfriend out of the way of the car.

'Will is generous to a fault, so lovely and so caring. I'm not surprised he did it, I expect it of him, that is just who he is.'

Fighting back the tears, she added: 'He is on a life support machine with so many wires coming out of him.

'The hospital said he has a one in a million chance of survival, but Will is a fighter and if anyone can survive this, it's him. I'm not giving up hope.'

'He is my baby and I just want to bring him home.'

William's sister Natalie, 16, said: 'Will loves his football and music and is one of the most sociable people I know.

'We can't walk two steps down the road together without him stopping to talk to people. He is constantly chatting to people, he seems to know everyone.

'Everyone is saying Will is a hero but that is just the kind-hearted person he is. He would have done that for whoever he was with.'

Kent Police said its investigation into the accident is continuing.