THE Andover mother of a 12-year-old cyclist who died after a road accident has made an emotional plea for other riders to wear cycle helmets.

John Hanson schoolboy Troy Parker died in the intensive care unit of Southampton General Hospital eight days after his bike was in collision with a car in Greenwich Way, Andover.

Troy's mum Carlie Annetts has now released photographs of her son and asked the Andover Advertiser to publish them in an attempt to show others the consequences of riding without a helmet.

Mrs Annetts, of Millway Road, said: "Troy was not wearing a cycle helmet, which I will regret for the rest of my life.

"He had almost the least powerful knock anyone could get when colliding with a car. He had a graze on each leg from the pedals, and a graze and bump on his face, nothing more than that.

"Although he was put into intensive care, and kept asleep to cause minimum swelling, everyone thought he would be awake in a couple of days."

An inquest has been opened and the cause of Troy's death is thought to be a blood clot on his brain which developed while he was unconscious.

Mrs Annetts added: "I hope you will use the photos of Troy to show parents how their children can look through not using a safety helmet.

"Their vanity is not worth their lives, and that's a blunt fact."

Mrs Annetts is also concerned about the safety of the junction where the collision occurred and says ultimately Troy's accident should never have happened.

"Apparently there have been accidents at that very spot previously, and until Troy's accident I was unaware of how blind the junction is both to motorists and pedestrians due to such a dense hedge," she said.

"Complaints have been made in the past and if they had been heeded, Troy would still be with us today."