FORMER Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty has paid tribute to doctors and nurses treating his seriously-ill daughter as she shows signs of improving.

Lucy Docherty, 25, suffered a fractured pelvis, broken ribs and a liver injury after being hit by the family car in a freak accident on Friday morning.

Staff at Manchester Royal Infirmary, where she is being treated at the High Dependency Unit, have revealed her condition has been improving since she was admitted.

Mr Docherty, who managed the Reds in the Seventies, told the M.E.N.: "The people in the hospital and the police have been absolutely fantastic, and we thank them for all the help they have given us in this most difficult of times. Lucy is showing a slight improvement each day, thank God."

It is believed Lucy was injured when the family Mercedes rolled over her outside her home at Compstall, near Stockport.

Lucy may have gone outside to smoke a cigarette early on Friday and started the car to listen to music. The car began to roll down the long driveway and it is believed she ran after it.

The Docherty family have spent hours by Lucy's bedside since the accident, which is being investigated by police.

A Manchester Royal Infirmary spokeswoman said: "Lucy is not as poorly as when she was first admitted."