TURVES man Richard Hooton was found dead in his car when it was recovered from a river after veering off the road at a notorious accident blackspot. Mr Hooton, 53, was driving home from work during the early hours of Friday, December 23 when his car crash

TURVES man Richard Hooton was found dead in his car when it was recovered from a river after veering off the road at a notorious accident blackspot.

Mr Hooton, 53, was driving home from work during the early hours of Friday, December 23 when his car crashed into the River Nene next to North Bank Road, near to the Dog-in-a-Doublet pub on the outskirts of Whittlesey.

When Mr Hooton, of Burnt House Road, failed to return home his family contacted the police. It was when the tide was out later in the day that a pumping station worker made the grim discovery.

The road, which has claimed five lives in the past three years and seen dozens of people injured, was closed for a few hours later in the morning while the white Renault Clio was recovered.

Police believe Mr Hooton lost control of the car on a bend in the road 100 yards from the pub and veered across the road before entering the river.

A police spokesman said: "Police would like to hear from anyone driving along this stretch of road that night, who may have seen the vehicle prior to it leaving the road, or who saw it enter the water.

"Officers need to establish exactly what happened prior to the car entering the river and any information you have, no matter how trivial, could help us do that."

CONTACT: The road policing unit at Cambridgeshire Constabulary headquarters on 0845 456 4564.