The 18-year hunt for the driver who left a teenager to die in a hit-and-run accident goes on. Police believe the public still hold vital clues to the circumstances which led to Lorna Flunder's death. Chief reporter LINDA PIPER looks at the case and the appeal for witnesses ...

EACH week, Bexleyheath police come a step closer to the killer of Lorna Flunder.

Lorna, a bright and popular 15-year-old, was killed by the driver of a blue Rover 2000 car, which knocked her down in Northend Road, Erith, on April 24, 1984.

Police began reinvestigating the case earlier this year and now think they know who was behind the wheel. Detective Constable Mark Horner, who is leading the hunt, has already appealed to the driver several times to come forward before "we have to knock on his door".

The driver left Lorna dead in the road at 10.45pm, after the impact of the car broke her neck in two places and fractured her skull.

The car, registration BGO 198H was found abandoned later that evening in Bexley Lane, Crayford.

Police traced the car owner, James Donnelly of Broadoak Road, Erith, five hours after Lorna's death.

He told police the car had been stolen earlier that night, although he had not reported it.

Despite an investigation into the accident at the time, the driver was not identified and did not come forward.

The coroner at Lorna's inquest recorded an open verdict on her death. Since then, her parents John and Doreen Flunder of Oakfield Road, Bexleyheath, have lived with the agony of not knowing who killed their daughter and why the accident happened.

Do you know who was driving the car that night?

Did you see someone abandon the car in Bexley Lane? You may have a vital piece of the jigsaw which will complete the picture of what really happened that spring night in Northend Road.

Call DC Horner at Bexleyheath CID on 020 8284 9131.

Search for Lorna's former schoolpals

To help complete the picture of Lorna and why she was in Erith that fateful night, officers have been trying to trace former classmates and staff at Bexleyheath Technical High School for Girls now Townley Grammar School, where Lorna was a pupil.

The girls, now women in their 30s, may have changed their names and addresses since 1984.

Officers are still hoping to trace: Alison Clarke, Faraday Avenue, Sidcup; Jacqueline Collier, Mallard Walk, Sidcup; Samantha Cooper, Elsa Road, Welling; Sharon Cox, St Katherine's Road, Thamesmead; Lisa D'Amiral, Burdett Close, Sidcup; Louise Davie, Wansunt Road, Bexley; Kelly Oulieu, Danson Road, Bexleyheath; Susan Earl, Oaklands Road, Sidcup; Mary Eustace, Milford Close Abbey Wood; Samantha Evans, Colepits Road, Eltham; Joanne Fairclough, Farm Vale, Bexley; Alison Fox, Sandringham Drive, Welling; Kathryn Fromings, Monkton Road, Welling; Catherine Gallego, Lancelot Road, Welling; Frances Gibbs, Cumberland Avenue, Welling; Helen Turner, Orchard Road, Sidcup.

If you are one of these school pals or you know where they are, call PC Colin Hobbs on 020 8284 9249.

Cash reward

THE News Shopper has put up a £5,000 reward for information leading to the

conviction of the driver.

We hope it will encourage someone who holds a vital clue, to come forward.

It does not matter if you have not spoken out before. Lorna's parents have waited 18 years to know the name of their daughter's killer and to find out why she died. If you can help end their suffering, call DC Horner on 020 8284 9131.

July 16, 2002 17:00