A police officer has been summonsed to be appear in court to face charges of causing the death of a Croston man by dangerous driving.

Police constable Philip Grover, 43, will appear at Blackburn Magistrates' Court on Monday, October 17, following an investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC).

The IPCC investigation involved the circumstances surrounding the death of Vivian Roberts, 63, on February 3, this year.

Mr Roberts, a divorced father-of-two grown-up children, was the driver of a Fiat Punto that collided with a marked police car responding to an emergency call at the junction of Schleswig Way with Dunkirk Lane, Leyland, on January 6, this year.

He suffered a fractured sternum and was in intensive care at the Royal Preston Hospital where he died.

PC Grover, who is currently suspended from driving a police vehicle but not from police duties, suffered a triple fracture to his pelvis.

The incident was referred to the IPCC, the body responsible for the police complaints system in England and Wales. Lancashire Constabulary carried out the investigation under the direction and control of the IPCC. On completion, the investigation file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service which advised that PC Grover should be summonsed for causing death by dangerous driving.

Mr Roberts' friend, Philip Lester, 52, from Ulnes Walton, said: "Viv was a lovely bloke who was well liked. He was very interested in the history of the First World War and we had been on a number of trips abroad to battle sites."

Following Mr Roberts' death coroner, Dr James Adeley, was informed but a date for the inquest has yet to be set.