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Sir Alex Ferguson and son Darren leave Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool this afternoon after visiting Darren's step son Charlie

Sir Alex Ferguson yesterday paid an emotional visit to his grandson in intensive care after the boy was seriously hurt in a car crash.

The Manchester United manager emerged grim-faced after a two-hour visit to see Charlie, ten, who had undergone emergency surgery for head injuries.

Charlie is being prepared for further surgery after the collision but his half-sister Grace, six, was discharged yesterday.

Darren Ferguson with Charlie, 10, and Grace, six

Sir Alex, 67, visited Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool with his 37-year-old son Darren, Grace’s father.

The children’s mother Nadine, who was driving them to school, is also in hospital with leg injuries.

Police are investigating the cause of Tuesday morning’s crash. They could prosecute Nadine, Darren’s ex-wife, for not having appropriate booster cushions.

A source close to the inquiry said Charlie’s injuries would have been less severe if he had been sitting on a child booster seat.

Sir Alex was told of the accident hours before his team faced Arsenal in London in the semifinals of the Champions League.

But, assured his grandchildren’s lives were not at risk, he guided his team to a 3-1 victory before travelling to the North-West.

Nadine was driving Charlie – her son from a previous relationship – and Grace in a Vauxhall Corsa when she collided with a Ford Fiesta driven by a 17-year-old in Lower Withington, Cheshire.

One witness said: ‘Nadine kept saying that she was in a lot of pain and was really upset to be separated from her children.

‘Her boy had a really nasty cut on his forehead and was screaming as the ambulance man was trying to treat him. It looked like a real mess as the cars both had to be cut by firefighters.’

Witnesses described a shocked Nadine saying repeatedly: ‘My poor babies.’

Darren said yesterday that his daughter was ‘fine’ and the operation on his stepson had been a success.

The turning on Trap Street, Lower Withington where the car crash took place

‘I can confirm that my ex-wife Nadine, my son Charlie and my daughter Grace were involved in a car accident on Tuesday morning,’ he said in a statement.

‘Grace, thankfully, is fine. Charlie is currently in the intensive care unit. He has undergone an operation, which was a success.

‘Nadine, who was also injured in the accident, is still in hospital from her injuries.’

Mrs Ferguson’s black Vauxhall Corsa had collided with a Ford Fiesta in Trap Street, Lower Withington, Macclesfield, at around 8.25am on Tuesday.

The Fiesta driver, a 17-year-old boy, was taken to hospital with leg injuries and was in a stable condition.

Local resident Lynda Syers told The Sun: The car was surrounded by paramedics and firemen. I could see the driver in the passenger seat sobbing her eyes out.

‘She was cradling her young daughter and trying to comfort her, but they were both completely distraught.’

Darren, 37, separated from Nadine in 2007 after four years of marriage. He was arrested in January last year and fined £1,500 after he admitted assaulting her.

He pleaded guilty to common assault but lawyers said his guilty plea was on a ‘limited basis’ and he had not kicked Nadine to the floor outside Sir Alex’s home.

They insisted he had not kicked Nadine but that she had run into his raised leg. As a result she fell to the ground and suffered pain in her stomach, they said.

The incident, in October 2007, started at Nadine’s home with a disagreement about childcare. Four hours later, the row flared again at Sir Alex’s house.

He remarried last week, tying the knot in Lincolnshire with freelance writer Nicola Noblet, 33. It is his third marriage.

The car crash comes just days after the team he manages, Peterborough United, were promoted to the Championship from League One with a 1-0 win away at Colchester United.

As a player, Sir Alex brought Darren through the youth ranks at Manchester United, giving him his first team debut in 1990.

Darren played in the side’s first 15 games of the new Premier League in 1992-93 but did not feature regularly enough to qualify for a title winner’s medal at the end of the season.

Daily Mail