THE parents of a hit and run victim who was injured as Burnley tried to control rioters, today revealed he will never fully recover.

And the family of Dean Cotterill criticised the Task Force set up in the wake of last year's trouble for not contacting him for information about the incident.

Today, Burnley Council leader Coun Stuart Caddy, one of the 15 members of the Task Force, admitted that somebody should have been to see the family, and said inquiries were under way to discover why they hadn't.

Pat and Jeffrey Cotterill of Anglesey Avenue, Burnley, said their 18-year-old son would never heal emotionally or physically after he was struck by a car being driven by a group of Asians on June 26 last year.

The Burnley Task Force, chaired by Lord Tony Clarke, was set up to investigate the causes behind three nights of rioting on June 23,24 and 25 and has since produced a series of recommendations aimed at preventing a repeat of the trouble.

Police confirmed the incident was treated as a deliberate racist attack but said no-one had ever been traced for the offence.

The incident occurred after Dean met his friend in the Clog and Spindle pub in Yorkshire Street, Burnley. He was walking in Colne Road to another friend's house when they exchanged words with a group of Asian youths in a light blue Ford Escort.

It turned round and was deliberately driven at them.

His friend managed to jump out of the way but Dean was hit. He was taken to Burnley Hospital with serious leg injuries.

Doctors have told him his leg injuries are so bad, he will never play sports or be able to enjoy a full life again.

Jeffrey said: "They say that things are getting better in the town, but they will never be better for Dean.

"No-one ever came to see us, no-one ever asked Dean what he thought or how he felt."

Dean has undergone several operations during his stay at Burnley General and now has bolts in a knee cap and a titanium rod in one of his ankles.

"He will have that for the rest of his life. When he reads in the papers or sees on the television people saying things are now all right in Burnley he hits the roof.

"He is afraid to leave the house and is now terrified of Asians. We have been through sheer hell."

Since the report into the riots was published last December, Jeffrey has been in contact with Lord Clarke and councillor Stuart Caddy.

But he admitted the family had not been to any of the Task Force's public meetings or written to Lord Clarke when he requested information, claiming they had not followed the inquiry in the media and had not known what they could do.

As well as being the leader of Burnley Borough Council, Coun Caddy was also one of the fifteen members of the Task Force.

"I phoned Lord Clarke and Stuart Caddy. Stuart promised to call me back, but he hasn't done.

"It feels like no-one cares about what happened to our son. Why has no-one been to see him?"

Coun Caddy said: "I spoke to the father a week last Friday and I have asked Lord Clarke to give him a ring.

"We both intend seeing the family on Lord Clarke's next visit to Burnley. I don't know why no-one has been to see the family, but I have got people looking into it now."

Lord Clarke was unavailable to comment.