A CAMPAIGNING Radcliffe father has persuaded Home Office officials to launch an independent inquiry into a police investigation of his son's death.

Anthony Killoran, 25, was killed in a road accident in Newport, South Wales, in September 1995.

He was thrown head-first from his motor cycle into a lamppost following a collision with a car.

A verdict of accidental death was recorded at an inquest in Abergavenny in March 1996.

Since the accident, his father, Tom, of Bolton Road, Radcliffe, has bitterly criticised Gwent Police's investigation

He called for a Home Office investigation after lodging complaints with the Police Complaints Authority about a senior officer and the force's accident investigation.

Mr Killoran is demanding that the driver of the car involved in his son's accident be prosecuted and that the inquest verdict be quashed.

The Crown Prosecution Service decided not to proceed with any action against the car driver after considering a file of evidence from the police.

In addition, Mr Killoran is furious that his son's Yamaha motor bike was eventually returned to him stripped of parts worth about £1,700.

Before receiving the bike back from the police, he had been told that someone else had applied to register the vehicle.

Mr Killoran said: "It is not every day that a member of the public gets the Home Office to investigate their case.

"It has cost me nearly £30,000 to get this far.

"I am over the moon and delighted that the Home Office has listened to me. I feel it is such an achievement and it has been done through dogged determination on my part."

An official statement from Gwent Constabulary admitted that "the bike was not disposed of within set procedures", but suggested that Mr Killoran could claim for damages on the missing bike parts from the contractor who had recovered the vehicle after the accident.

The statement added: "Mr Killoran was told through his lawyer last June that he (the contractor) would consider any reasonable claim made as a result of this.

"It is not in dispute that parts were missing from the bike. No claim has been forthcoming. Gwent Police has no liability in this issue.

"The CPS has considered the case on two separate occasions and has come to the conclusion that there is insufficient evidence for any criminal action to be taken."

The Home Office has refused to comment on +the case while the investigation is taking place.

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