Mum's tears for hit-and-run victim

Shaun, 34, of Ruskin Avenue, Oswaldtwistle, died after being struck by a red car on Blackburn Road, Oswaldtwistle, opposite the Hare and Hounds pub, after a night out on January 18.

The driver of the car has not been traced despite a major police investigation.

Shaun's grieving mother Jennifer Metcalfe, 51, had to be supported throughout the service, held at St Mary's RC Church, in Catlow Hall Street, Oswaldtwistle, by her son Mark, and daughter Christine.

Father Patrick Bourke, who performed the ceremony, said that it was not the task of a mother to bury her son. He said: "In the midst of a tragedy such as this words seem so very inadequate, for somebody to go out full of life and not come back.

"Then there is the fact that Shaun was killed tragically and that the person who killed him didn't even have the human nature to stop and to see what had happened. It's so hard to take that in.

He added: "I know Shaun was so young. It's really not the task of a mother to bury her child. It should be the other way round.

"All we can do really for Shaun's mother is to reassure her of our love and prayers."

Shaun was buried at Clayton-le-Moors and Church Cemetery in Dill Hall Lane.

Flowers and messages of support were given by Baron Mercer, where Shaun worked as a wood-sprayer.

The staff at the Hare and Hounds pub, where Shaun worked as a part-time barman, gave a bouquet with the words 'Darts and Dominoes' written on it, in tribute to Shaun's love of the pursuits. Friends also donated flowers in the shape of a pint of beer and there were messages of support from Hyndburn Sunday Small Table Snooker League, the Royal Oak and Rhoden Inn pubs, North Lancs Training and Accrington and District Darts and Dominoes League.

Police believe the car which struck Shaun stopped 40 yards up the road after the accident then reversed before driving off.

Several lines of inquiry have been pursued and the investigation is continuing.