James Brian McNally

James Brian McNally was knocked off his motorbike by a lorry on the main Wolverhampton to Kidderminster Road at Wall Heath.

He died from crush injuries and it was heard that tyre imprints showed that he had almost certainly been run over by a heavy vehicle.

However, the other vehicle was never traced.

The police said that when the accident was reported that they immediately carried out traffic checks in three counties which they said were later extended. They added that appeals were also made in newspapers, on the radio and on both television channels and that enquiries were made as far afield as Greenwich and Cornwall.

At the inquest the Coroner said, 'In this case you have no alternative but to return an open verdict and leave the police to deal with the other driver, if he should be found, as they think fit'.

The Coroner also commented on the role of the press, saying, 'It is good to think that the Press, at a time when it was extremely difficult for them because of the printing dispute, were ready to co-operate with the police'.

James McNally had been a student teacher and had lived in Kitchener Road, Forest Gate, London.