Unanswered questions after death probe

THE mother of a young motorcyclist who was killed in a road crash shortly after being followed by police has spoken of the questions she wants answering about how he died.

Neil Kirby, 20, died after losing control of his black Yamaha and hitting a tree and a telegraph pole in Dead Lane, Aingers Green near, Great Bentley last September.

Just eight days after the crash, Mr Kirby's girlfriend, Sheryl, gave birth to a daughter, Grace.

Mr Kirby was one of two motorcyclists followed by an Essex Police patrol car, but failed to stop after being told to pull over. After calling off his pursuit, the same officer responded to a 999 call an hour later reporting that a motorcyclist had crashed near the Flag Inn. He recognised the machine as the one he followed earlier.

After the crash, an investigation was launched by the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) about the way the incident was handled last year.

Heartbroken mother, Tracy Kirby of Nayland Drive, Clacton, was responding to the news that the authority's investigation has been completed- although its findings have yet to be announced.

Mrs Kirby, who wears a photo of Mr Kirby on a pendant round her neck, said she could not understand why her son crashed on a straight stretch of road and why his body remained undiscovered for an hour.

"The thought of my son lying in that field for an hour… and no one has been able to tell me why he wasn't found. It doesn't make sense that they didn't see the crash, I just can't get that through.

"The police have taken me through, step by step, and said the police officer switched off his lights and pulled back before Neil crashed. But he had made it through the bends and was on a straight stretch of road," she said.

Mrs Kirby said she had been told the officer who was following her son saw a motorbike going up a hill in the distance and took that to be Mr Kirby.

She acknowledged her son did not want to be stopped by the police and was trying to get away from them because he did not have a license at the time of the crash.

Before the crash, which happened on September 25, Mr Kirby had been hoping to get into circuit racing, and had proved his ability enough that he had sponsors backing him.

Mr Kirby was the eldest of six children and went to Burrsville, Ravenscroft, and Colbaynes schools.

Local children have raised funds to pay for three benches in Neil's memory to be placed at a pub in Bentley and two at a nearby park.

An Essex Police spokesman said: "Essex Police has concluded its investigation into a road crash in which a motorcyclist from Clacton was killed.

"Essex Police voluntarily referred this incident to the Police Complaints Authority as Neil Kirby was being followed by an officer in a marked police car at the time, after the motorcyclist had failed to stop for him."

A spokesman for the PCA confirmed it had completed its investigations, but a decision had yet to be taken on its findings.

He said Mrs Kirby's questions about the incident were for the inquest, which will be later in the year.