THE FAMILY of a man killed in a collision with a vehicle have made an emotional plea for the driver to come forward 12 years on.

Shaun Metcalfe, 35, was killed as he crossed Blackburn Road in Oswaldtwistle just after 3am on Saturday, January 18, 2004.

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Mr Metcalfe had been out drinking with a friend at the Hare and Hound Public House in Blackburn Road and was making his way back home to Ruskin Avenue.

Police have never managed to trace the driver and in an attempt to get closure Mr Metcalfe's brother, Mark, has made a plea on behalf of the family for anyone with information to come forward.

He said: “We as the family of Shaun would ask the driver of the vehicle involved in Shaun's accident to come forward to the police, giving us an accurate account of the events that night from your point of view as we have no clue ourselves.

"We need you to put yourself in our position and imagine how you and your family would feel having to go through what we have.

"He was a loving and caring son, brother and uncle whose death has left a void in family life for us.

"We really do need to be able to visit his grave and finally say to him that we now know exactly what the events of that night were, giving us some kind of closure after all these years. Once again the family are pleading with you to do the right thing by us and come forward.

"His nephews and nieces are still particularly upset by his death because of the amount of time they spent with him, especially at weekends.

"His oldest nephew Anthony lost a very close fishing buddy and has not been fishing since the accident because it is not the same anymore without his uncle."

Police said they are not sure if Mr Metcalfe was crouched down or lying in the road at the time of the collision and have appealed for the driver to come forward and give the family the answer's they are desperately seeking.

PC Mark Royle-Evatt, who worked on the original investigation, said: “We know that Shaun died as a result of a collision but what we don’t know is whether he was already laid or crouched on the road before he was hit. If that was the case, it may be that the driver didn’t see him and has hit him completely by accident.

“I am asking the driver to search their conscience and come forward. This isn’t about blame, it’s about finding out what happened for Shaun’s family who have been suffering with their loss for over a decade now. They just want to know exactly what happened to him, information that that they deserve.

“This case is still open and despite the passage of time we remain committed to getting answers for Mr Metcalfe’s family and friends so that they can try and start to move on with their lives.”

The driver of the vehicle involved in the collision or anyone with information is asked to call police on 101, quoting reference number EL0400035.