Family's anguish on Cheryl Flanagan tram death mystery

Cheryl Flanagan's family tells Mike Woods they fear their daughter's death will be a mystery forever.

"We don't want a witch-hunt - we just want answers," George Flanagan says, the strain of not knowing how his beloved daughter Cheryl came to be killed by a tram visible on his face.

The tragedy on December 12, 2003 has left the family of the West Midlands Police worker unable to move on, with no-one able to explain how the 30-year-old, who was alive when she was hit, had come to be lying between the rails at The Crescent stop in Bilston.

In an exclusive interview with the Express & Star, Miss Flanagan's parents and sister today confirmed they were exploring the possibility of civil action in a bid to hold to account anyone who may have contributed to her death. They say their daughter's death and the subsequent botched police investigation has "destroyed our lives".

Miss Flanagan was struck and killed by a Birmingham-bound tram, moments after arguing with her ex-fiance Pc Ian Bracey by Bilston's Crescent stop.

Mr Bracey, now 56, was arrested on suspicion of the murder of Miss Flanagan but released without charge and has denied any wrongdoing.

British Transport Police's probe into the death was branded a "shambles" by a coroner last month before an inquest jury recorded an open verdict.

Officers were confused over how the death should be treated, with some wrongly believing Bilston Street data handler Miss Flanagan had thrown herself from the bridge and others saying it should have been treated as murder.

No CID officers from BTP were available in the West Midlands as they had been given the day off for their Christmas party, the inquest was told.

The scene was not preserved properly, meaning evidence may have been missed.

George Flanagan, a 72-year-old retired factory foreman, says the family "couldn't believe" that no BTP CID officers were on duty in the West Midlands to attend what could have been a murder.

"We were sick about it," he revealed. Cheryl's mother, retired home help worker Valerie Flanagan, aged 67, added: "We were furious."

The family also revealed BTP had told them the investigation was still active. A detective chief superintendent is expected to update the family in two weeks. The family is still holding a vague hope that new witnesses could come forward as a result of the media coverage of the inquest.

Mrs Flanagan said the family felt "dreadful" about the initial police response.

She went to the scene with her husband in the minutes after the tragedy and said: "It was very frustrating. There was nobody taking charge."

Mrs Flanagan revealed that a fingertip search of the scene was carried out last October and recovered an earring believed to have belonged to Miss Flanagan which was apparently missed in searches at the time.

A watch and ring given to her by her mother for her 21st birthday, have never been found. Mrs Flanagan said: "This inquest is just as though it's just happened again. It's just reopened all the old wounds again. Nobody ever gets over it but you do learn to live with things, but it's now as though it's only just happened. It's very, very hard. You've got to keep plodding along."

Cheryl's sister Julie Flanagan, aged 46, said she felt BTP was just "winging it", and said a number of complaints against individual officers were still being investigated.

She said: "Nobody's been held accountable. It's shown people up for bad policing and we still don't know because the police won't tell us what has been done against individual officers. We can't be sure that anything has changed."

Mr Flanagan said his "biggest regret" was not going down to the tram stop sooner after seeing his daughter argue with Mr Bracey, who has since retired from the force. He said: "It's destroyed our life basically. Val's developed a heart complaint out of it.

"They stopped me from trying to help Cheryl on the night. They weren't doing anything to help her and that's the biggest trauma. They left her out in the rain and didn't cover her up until hours later. It was awful seeing her lying in the rain."

Mrs Flanagan said: "We're retired now and would be at liberty to do anything we want, like go on holidays, but you don't want to do it. It knocks the stuffing out of you. You feel as if your life's finished and you don't want to be bothered with anything else."

Julie said: "The police investigation means we will never know what might have happened. The police have let us go through the rest of our lives not knowing what happened to Cheryl."

BTP has apologised to the family and says lessons have been learned.