Tributes to war hero killed in road smash

Nov 19 2007 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

FRIENDS and neighbours of a North-East war hero who died when he was crushed by a Land Rover paid tribute yesterday to “a true gentleman”.

Former fighter pilot Colin Perkins, 84, was killed while taking gardening equipment from his car on Delhi Crescent, Woodside, near Ryton, Gateshead, on Friday evening.

Neighbours called one of his daughters who tried to comfort her father as paramedics worked for more than an hour in an attempt to save him.

The smash happened outside the home of Doreen and Peter Hepworth and they were two of the first to try to help Mr Perkins.

Yesterday, they were still in shock at what they had witnessed but called for traffic-calming measures to be implemented outside their home.

Mrs Hepworth, 52, said: “Mr Perkins was just unloading some gardening gear.

“I heard a crunching sound and when I went outside I saw him lying in the road and his body was twisted.

“My husband went to get a blanket to keep him warm while we waited for the ambulance.

Mr Perkins, who was from Greenside, near Ryton, was dropping off Mr and Mrs Hepworth’s neighbour when he was hit by the vehicle. The force of the impact knocked his Nissan Micra into a Ford Fiesta parked nearby.

Mr Hepworth added: “To have lived the life he has and die in such a way is just awful. He was a real gentleman and for his age he was very sprightly. He was well-known in the village.

“Something needs to be done though because this was an accident waiting to happen.”

Meanwhile, a shop assistant at Mr Perkins’s local newsagents, who did not want to be named, told of his politeness and warmth.

She said: “He would come in every day for his paper with his dog and would always call me by my full name because he was a traditional man.

“He was so polite and would be quite funny. It is just a horrible thing to happen. He had recently had a hernia operation but was looking much more lively.”

Local councillor Sally Danys, who knew Mr Perkins, said: “He’ll be a big loss to the area.

“That particular stretch is 30mph and there was a local residents’ meeting in July to discuss traffic-calming measures and it is under review.”

Mr Perkins served with 107 Squadron during the Second World War and survived scores of dangerous missions. He met his wife Christine during the war while on leave in Brussels and they went on to have two children.

Following the crash, which happened shortly after 6.40pm, a 41-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.

He has since been released on police bail pending further inquiries into the smash. Anyone with information is asked to call police in Gateshead on (0191) 221 9540.