A MOTHER-OF-TWO has died in a hit-and-run after being knocked down by a car following a chase by police.

Susan Shaw, 47, was hit by a blue Vauxhall Corsa in High Street, Rishton, at 5.50pm on Boxing Day.

The much-loved, creative and well-known charity volunteer, who devoted a lot of time to ‘Switched-On Rishton’ in particular, died at the scene from multiple injuries.

The driver of the Corsa, which was being chased by police, failed to stop at the scene.

Woman dies in Rishton hit and run police chase crash

Police, who referred themselves to the Independent Police Complaints Commission in the wake of the fatality, said the ‘short pursuit’ had started in Blackburn.

No arrests have been made.

Detectives are appealing for witnesses and urged the driver to ‘search their conscience’ and come forward.

Detective Superintendent Jo Edwards said: “The criminal investigation is ongoing and we are currently trying to establish the identity of the driver of the blue Vauxhall Corsa. We have a number of members of staff who are pursuing a number of lines of enquiries.

“We feel it always when we have a sudden death of a member of the public but at Christmas time it’s a special time for many in our communities and it really does make it much more heartfelt and tragic, especially being so unexpected.

“We would appeal for anyone in the area of High Street and Great Harwood Road at the time of the incident to come forward with any information they feel may be of relevance.

“In terms of the driver himself I hope he has got a conscience and we would look for him to come forward and provide us with an explanation as to what has happened.”

In a statement, Ms Shaw’s family said: “Susan was very creative and enjoyed crafting. She would sell items she had made to raise money for Switched-On Rishton.

“Susan was a loving mother-of -two and also a much-loved daughter and sister and she will be sorely missed by all who knew her.

“She was always generous with her time with friends and strangers alike and was loved by everyone. One of her friends has described her as ‘one of the kindest people you could ever meet who would do anything for anybody.”

Resident Gordon Smith, 77, said: “I only knew her by sight and I knew her dog.

“She had a Jack Russell she used to walk.”

He added: “I was out yesterday and when I got back about 9.30pm there were two police cars blocking the road and a police van.

“I heard somebody had been knocked down and people said there had been a police chase.”

Meanwhile, a gofundme page set up to raise £400 towards the cost of Ms Shaw’s funeral raised £2,000 within hours. To contribute visit /www.gofundme.com/susan-shaws-family-fund.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting log reference 1204 of December 26.