A schoolboy who suffered a fractured skull and broken bones when he was hit by a falling branch in Richmond Park has opened his eyes, his family has said.

Friday July 10: Boy airlifted to hospital after being struck by branch in Richmond Park

Sacha Saucek, who turned eight yesterday, was taking part in a school trip with classmates and teachers from Kew Riverside Primary when he was struck by the branch which broke his limbs, ribs, pelvis and fractured his skull.

He is still to show that he can understand what is going on.

Sacha underwent surgery after being transported to hospital via air ambulance and though he is now off the critical list he will require further medical intervention.

Sacha’s mother Jo, who has remained by her son’s bedside since he was injured, confirmed his development.

Ms Saucek, who works at Richmond charity Me Too & Co, said: "Sacha's future is uncertain. It's incredibly hard to put our minds into the future. We're taking it day by day."

Ms Saucek said Sacha, who has a two-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother, is incredibly bright and loves nature. He collects stones and crystals and would like to be a geologist or a vet when he is older.

He recently took part in the Screen Your Story Competition at Barnes and was presented with an award by comedian Jack Whitehall for his short story, which was published in a book.

A Go Fund Me page has been set up to assist Sacha’s family, who were due to move to Berkshire this week, with travel, accommodation and other costs while he is recovering from his injuries and had raised more than £9,000 at the time of writing.

Donate to the family at www.gofundme.com/supportforsacha

On the page Jo says: "It is a long and scary road from here, with many unknowns. All thoughts and prayers will help him and his family.

"We remain terrified but positive that we can get Sacha through this.

"Luka and Stella continue to amaze us with their strength and positivity. Luka is on first name terms with all the staff and has decided to be an air ambulance pilot.

"Absolute heartfelt thanks and love to all our friends and family who are supporting us with love, encouragement and wonderful food. We couldn't do this without you."

A Royal Parks spokesman said the organisation’s thoughts are with Sacha and his family.

He said: "Incidents such as this are particularly rare which is testament to the regular checks made on nearly 170,000 trees across all eight Royal Parks. We are now working with specialist teams to fully investigate this incident."