THE family of a man who has been left in a coma following a hit and run have made an emotional appeal for the driver of the car to hand himself into the police.

Anthony Bond

THE family of a man who has been left in a coma following a hit and run have made an emotional appeal for the driver of the car to hand himself into the police.

Chris Corder, 42, was seriously injured following a collision with a black Jaguar XJ6 in Benton Street, Hadleigh, at about 12.50pm on Sunday.

He had been out delivering church magazines for his 77-year-old mother.

But while walking between houses on Sunday, Mr Corder was hit by the black Jaguar and left for dead.

The driver of the car did not stop at the scene and continued towards Holton St Mary.

Mr Corder was left lying in the road with extensive head injuries, two broken legs, a broken elbow, broken shoulder, broken ribs and a broken collarbone.

He was flown to the Royal London Hospital by air ambulance where he remains in a critical condition in a coma. His devastated family, who keep a daily bedside vigil, say he has shown no signs of life.

Today, at Suffolk Constabulary's headquarters, Mr Corder's three elder sisters appealed to the driver to hand himself into the police.

Jenny Corder, 47, said: “Half of me is really upset and half is really bitter and angry about how somebody could do that to somebody else and go off and leave them in the road like that.

“It is a very callous thing to do and we cannot understand how somebody can do that because anybody with compassion would stop.

“I would like to shake him. I just want to know why he did not stop. You are angry and bitter but realising that you cannot be like that because accidents do happen. But our main priority is with our brother, but we realise that the person has got to be caught.”

Mr Corder, who lives with his parents Maureen, 77, and Gerry, 78, in Benton Street, is well-known and popular in Hadleigh through his job as a cleaner.

A keen Ipswich Town fan, he also likes darts and cricket.

“He is somebody that would do something for anybody,” said Miss Corder. “He is very kind-natured and he would not hurt a fly. He is a kind-hearted person.

“Seeing him how he is at the moment is very hard. There is no sign of life. We just hope that there will be a change in his situation.”

His eldest sister, Rosemary Grimsey, 50, said she did not feel angry towards the driver.

“We would just like the person to come forward and own up to it and explain what happened.

“We just hope that Chris comes out of the coma and starts to get better.”

It is believed the Jaguar was driven by a white man in his mid 20s to mid 30s, with dark hair and wearing a white shirt. The car and driver have not been traced, and officers are making inquiries across the region to locate them.

If anybody has information, contact Suffolk police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

SUFFOLK police today vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in its hunt for the hit-and-run driver.

Sergeant Bob Patterson, from the force's serious collision investigation team, said: “The driver left for a reason. He thought it worthwhile just to leave the scene.

“There are lots of enquiries that we are following up and we will continue to that that. If that means checking every single car in the country, then we will do that.”

Sgt Patterson said he would be keen to speak to anybody who has seen a damaged Jaguar and appealed for the man to come forward.

“It is unlikely that he intended to hurt anybody on that journey but the public would consider, I would suggest, that it is quite horrific and disturbing that somebody would leave a pedestrian in the road with significant injuries. It is an appeal for him to come forward and tell us what happened in the incident.

“He owes it to the family and Mr Corder himself to come forward now so that we can bring some closure to it. We will see this through to the end and leave no stone unturned.”