Eight-year-old boy suffers severe injuries after tree branch falls on him while bushwalking with parents

An eight-year-old boy has been struck in the head by a falling tree while bushwalking with his parents near Lorne on Victoria’s coast.

The boy was running ahead of his family along the Lemonade Creek track just before 11am when a branch fell from a Mountain Grey Gum, landing on top of him.

He was just out of sight of his parents at the time.

The wooded area is out of mobile phone range and minutes passed before the family could get word out for help.

They finally had to carry the boy 200 metres back to the car park on Erskine Falls Road.

An air ambulance made an emergency landing on the Lorne Oval before racing him to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

He is being treated for severe head injuries.

Authorities believe recent wind and rain may have made trees in the area unstable.