THE family of a North Yorkshire man who was killed by a hit and run driver ten years ago have issued a fresh appeal for information.

Bill Hendry was 75 when he was struck by a small car or van while crossing Stockwell Lane in Knaresborough at 9.38am on February 26, 2007.

On Monday his family lay flowers at the scene of the crash, and North Yorkshire Police officer handed out more than 2,000 leaflets appealing for information from locals.

Christine Torr, Mr Hendry’s stepdaughter, urged anyone who remembered seeing or hearing anything which could help police to contact them on a specially set up helpline.

She said: “As a family it’s really important for us to have some closure, because we feel we’ve been robbed of Bill and we don’t have any answers. He’s been robbed of his life, our children and grandchildren have been robbed of their grandfather, and we just need some answers. It’s just tragic that somebody’s killed Bill, walked away and got on with their lives, and we can’t get on with ours.”

Cam Hendry, from York, was 16 when Mr Hendry, his great uncle, was killed. He said he learned how to love nature from his great-uncle, and said “it’s still incredibly painful, 10 years on”.

He said: “I just remember the police and the news and it was just really surreal.

“You don’t think anything like that would ever happen somewhere like this or it would happen to you or your family, and it was just completely baffling that nobody had been found.

“Someone saw the damaged car, insurer knows about it, or a mechanic had to replace a bumper someone knows something that’s suspicious, all it takes is someone to come forward with a bit of information to help police do their job and help us find who’s responsible for this.”

PC Marie Scott met Mr Hendry’s family on the day he died, and said officers continue to appeal for information at the roadside and at Knaresborough market tomorrow.

She said: “It’s one of the jobs that’s stayed with me throughout my career, going to see the family that morning and taking them to the hospital and not being able to give them any explanation or answer as to what happened.”

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Ellis, leading the investigation, said whoever killed Mr Hendry knew what they had done, and his family deserved answers.

Police said they knew the vehicle involved was a small car or van, and as the street was mainly used as a cut-through from Knaresborough to get through to Harrogate or surrounding villages, Mr Ellis was “certain the person who did it had a local connection”.

York Press:

Anyone with information which could help the investigation should phone 01904 618681 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.