The boy suffered the injury when a shotgun was discharged in woodland near the village of Catsfield, East Sussex, on Thursday morning.

He was with a party of adults who were rough shooting at the time of the incident.

Rough shooting involves using specially trained dogs to flush out game - such as grouse and rabbit - from hedgerows and woods.

It is the most common method of live quarry shooting in the UK, according to the British Association for Shooting and Conservation.

Sussex Police said they were called to the scene at 11.08am on Thursday.

During the incident, the boy suffered a serious, potentially life-changing wound to his hip and was airlifted to hospital in London, according to police.

A 54-year-old man from Nottinghamshire was arrested at the scene on suspicion of grievous bodily harm.