POLICE are treating the death of a South Lakeland schoolboy as a "tragic accident" after he was in collision with a horsebox on the A6 between Lancaster and Bolton-le-Sands, reports Andrew Daniels.

Kieran Elvey, 15, of Willow Lane, Flookburgh, was struck by the vehicle at Slyne, just after 9pm on Wednesday, and was pronounced dead on arrival at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary.

Police are trying to establish how Kieran, a pupil at Cartmel Priory School, came to be lying in the road before the incident.

The busy Main Street remained closed most of yesterday (Thursday) while forensic officers examined the scene, near to the Cross Keys pub.

As news of the tragedy spread, dozens of Kieran's friends left tributes to him on his personal Bebo page - a website forum used by thousands of young people and where Kieran had chatted happily with friends only a day earlier.

Kieran was featured in The Westmorland Gazette in April 2005 when he spoke about people wrongly assuming youngsters in Flookburgh were always up to no good. The article was in response to reports that Britain was in the grip of a teenage yob crime wave.

Lancashire police said the cause of death was consistent with injuries sustained in the collision with the horsebox and were treating it as a tragic accident.

Police were keen to hear from anyone who may have seen Kieran on Wednesday night.

A spokesperson for the force said they knew Kieran was in Carnforth at around 8pm and thought he may have walked some, if not all, of the way to where he was found.

Officers are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen him walking or given him a lift all or part of the way.

Kieran's family said they did not want to comment yesterday.

Anyone with information should contact Lancaster Police on 01524-63333.

For full story see this week's Westmorland Gazette.