AN inquiry has been launched by Lancashire Constabulary in to the way it dealt with the aftermath of a fatal road accident.

Paul Hayhurst, 24, died just seconds from his home when the car he was travelling in smashed in to a tree in Whittingham Road, Longridge, in May 2005.

Yesterday at Preston Crown Court Mr Hayhurst's friend, Stuart Callaghan, 27, of Derby Road, Longridge, was acquitted of causing death by dangerous driving after judge Christopher Cornwall ruled that the jury could not be certain who the driver at the time was.

Judge Cornwall slammed the police's handling of the investigation of the death, pointing to several lapses in attaining vital eveidence. These included a failure to check the steering wheel for fingerprints.

Chief Inspector for road policing at Lancashire Constabulary, Jon Donnelly, said the case would be looked at again.

He said: "We are aware of the comments made by Judge Christopher Cornwall and we will now conduct a comprehensive review of the case to see if there are any lessons that can be learnt to ensure no similar situations such as this occur again.

"In the meantime we're maintaining close contact with the family of the deceased and continue to offer as much support as possible at this difficult time."