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Lesley was having quite a bit of hassle with Ian over money. Who owed this and who owed that, she told him all she wanted was her share of the profit made on the house. The furniture and bits and pieces he could with what he wanted.

Dennis seemed to be getting on ok at the house in Woodhall Farm but I am sure it would only be a matter of time before he blotted his copybook. He came to see us quite often ,which was nice.

Lesley sometimes went with Steve to the local pub, The Marchmont Arms. It wasnt long before she started dating again. She had been with Ian since she was 17 yrs old so I am sure she found it a bit nerve wracking. She was also a regular at a boutique type shop called Zoo, she bought loads of very up to the minute clothes.

I was so proud of how she handled things with Ian and being single again. I think the first lad was Gary, I am not sure how long that lasted, a few weeks maybe. Then it was Joe, someone she had known for quite a few years, he had a Porche car and I must admit Lesley looked the part in her new clothes. The next one, I was horrified about because of the things I had heard about him , he was a fireman who ate bugs and flowers and thought of himself as Bill Sykes with his trusty dog Bullseye. Only his dog was a brown boxer, who would allegedly eat you for breakfast, when in fact he was a really nice dog. The lad was supposed to be a bit of a hard man biting noses in fights, all rubbish but that was what he projected. This is purely my opinion. In fact I think he was very insecure.

It wasnt long before she dropped seeing Joe and Jim seemed to be the one. I would just have to try and forget what I had heard and see for myself what he was like. I did know he was a very courteous person opening car doors for Lesley and was nothing but polite to me but I wasnt convinced, time would tell.

Steve came home from work and said he was feeling really ill. He looked awfull, I said he should take a couple of paracetemol as it looked as if he was full of cold. The next morning he was even worse and had quite a high temperature. I suggested I take him to the Doctors because I thought it was more than a cold. The Doctor took some blood and gave him anti-biotics and signed him off work for a week and told him to rest.

The next morning if anything he felt and looked worse. I left him some juice and water and said I would pop home at lunchtime to make him some thing to eat. At about 12.00noon I received a call from Dr. Williams saying she had been trying desperately to get hold of Steve but no one was answering the phone. She was very concerned and needed to see him because the blood test had showed he had glandular fever with the added complication of Hepatitis which untreated to seriously damage his liver. I told her I would go straight home and meet her there.

Steve looked so ill, he just had no energy. He said he hadnt heard the telephone. Dr Williams arrived and I took her to Steve. She told him about the glandular fever/Hepatitis and said it was really serious. She left a prescription for some more medication plus Diorlite as he was dehydrated and said she would be back to see him the next day and if he felt any worse to ring her.

Steve was in bed for about a week before he felt able to come downstairs. Dr Williams had told him he couldnt drink any alcohol for six months as it took this long for the liver to recover. This was a big shock to Steve as he loved his beer. The implications were so great that he had no choice.

I received a letter from the Coroners Office in Bedford stating the second part of the inquest was to be held at Bedford Court on 29th March 1985 to establish the cause of the accident and record a verdict. Although it was a terrible thing to have to go through we would be able to sort out Sheila`s bank and insurance. I had already paid the funeral directors. Because we hadnt as yet received a death certificate everything was held in abeyance.

The day of the court hearing came , it was dreadful we had to sit and listen to a couple of car drivers behind her who said nothing appeared to be amiss just that she suddenly veered to the right and into a lorry going in the opposite carriageway,the only thing at that time separating the carriageways was a strip of grass, no crash barriers. The driver of the lorry involved was so upset and kept saying there was nothing he could do to avoid the collision, as was previously stated she just crashed into the side of his lorry. Her car door had sprung open and the seat belt had snapped and she was thrown out of her car. an ambulanceman also gave evidence and said she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of death was recorded as:

1a. Brain Stem Haemorrhage

b . Due to fracture of skull and fracture of upper cervical
Verte Brae

c. Due to Trauma

Verdict "Accidental"



They could not be certain the accident was caused by mechanical failure or human error. Both offside tyres were deflated but they had been unable to prove whether this was done prior to impact or during , the reason being the car had been to towed to a local garage and then disappeared. So no safety checks could be done. We will never know what happened just that it did and we lost someone that meant so much to us and is forever in our thoughts.

This particular dual carriageway at the Black Cat Roundabout, I understand has now been revamped and although it is renowned for accidents crash barriers have been installed and hopefully will help to stop any more fatalities.