A COUNCIL boss has been suspended after a new police investigation was launched into the 2007 death of a pensioner who was hit by a bin lorry.

New information, from a ‘whistleblower’, came to light this month suggesting the licence of the vehicle’s driver, former Hyndburn Council employee Kevin Michael Slattery, had lapsed.

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In June 2008 he was cleared of driving without due care and attention over the death of 66-year-old Jean Eastwood after he collided with the pensioner as he was reversing in Rishton’s Norden Court alleyway.

The whistleblower claimed that Mr Slattery, now retired, did not have the necessary medical checks for over-45s to drive such refuse vehicles.

Mr Slattery said he did not know anything about the claims.

The medical checks were allegedly completed successfully seven months after the accident but before the resulting court case, according to the whistleblowers information.

If proved this meant that at the time of the fatal accident he did not have the relevant classification on his licence to drive the lorry, possibly invalidating his and the council’s insurance.

An initial investigation by town hall bosses earlier this month revealed some of its current employees did not have the full training required to drive a new fleet of road sweeping vehicles, leading to some being taken out of service for several days.

As result, Hyndburn Council chief executive David Welsby suspended its head of community services Steve Riley, a long-serving senior officer involved in driver licensing cleansing vehicles in 2007 and since, and informed the police.

Now officers said they were re-investigating the incident and the circumstances surrounding it, opening up the possibility of new prosecutions.

According to public data Mr Riley earns £45,000-plus a year. He is understood to have been suspended on full pay pending the results of the police investigations and a further council inquiry.

A Lancashire Police spokesman said: “At 12.45pm on Monday, May 14 2007 a refuse wagon driven by Hyndburn Council employee Kevin Slattery collided with Mrs Jean Eastwood off Harwood Road, Rishton.

“She received injuries which proved fatal at the scene.

“Following an investigation Mr Slattery was summonsed for an offence of driving without due care and attention and subsequently acquitted at magistrate’s court.

“Recent information received by Lancashire Constabulary from Hyndburn Council has revealed that at the time of the accident Mr Slattery did not possess the correct classification on his licence to drive the refuse wagon and we are now in the very early stages of carrying out an investigation into all the circumstances.

“Mrs Eastwood’s family have been informed.

“I cannot rule out the possibility that prosecutions of some form may result from this investigation.”

A Hyndburn Council spokesman said: “The chief executive was made aware on January 7 that the driver involved in the accident in 2007 may have allowed the vocational part of his licence, that enabled him to drive HGVs to lapse at the time that the incident took place.

“After an initial investigation the chief executive reported the matter to the police on January 8, 2016.

“Council staff are co-operating fully with the investigation.

“The council has suspended the head of community services whilst the investigation is underway.”

Mr Slattery, now 60 and retired, said he was unaware that his licence was not fully up-to-date at the time of the incident.

He said: “It was a very distressing time and still is.

“I am very concerned to learn about this.”

Mrs Eastwood, 66, died from multiple injuries after she was hit by the reversing bin wagon being driven by Mr Slattery, then 52.

He was en-route to collect trade refuse from the rear of the Auberge restaurant in Rishton.

Mr Slattery was reversing down Norden Court, an alleyway between the Ribble Valley Bentley garage and a block of sheltered housing, when he hit the grandmother from nearby Eachill Gardens.

Hyndburn Council leader, Cllr Miles Parkinson, said: “I can confirm that a senior manager has been suspended. I cannot comment further.”

Borough Tory group leader, Cllr Tony Dobson, said: “I have full confidence in the senior management team to resolve whatever issues might have come to the surface recently.”

The Lancashire Telegraph was unable to contact Mrs Eastwood’s close family.

Mr Riley was unavailable for comment.