A PLAQUE commemorating a young boy killed in a road accident more than 50 years ago has been unveiled on the riverbank near Durham Cathedral.

Humphrey Parris died at the age of seven on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, 1964, when he ran across the A177 at Shincliffe, a village just outside the city, and was struck by a car.

The youngster and his four siblings lived with their parents, university lecturers Henry and Judith Parris, in nearby Pimlico and loved the wooded riverbanks.

His parents put a plaque up near Prebends Bridge marking the spot as Humphrey’s Bank but it disappeared or was destroyed at some point.

His sister Rebecca Parris, who now lives in Lancaster, unveiled a new one and helped Durham Cathedral woodland workers plant trees in the as part of a ongoing project to improve the area.

Ms Parris said that the last time she was in Durham she found the posts that held the original sign and decided to replace it as the 50th anniversary was approaching

“We walked to school along the riverbank and I think now that it must have been one of the most beautiful walks to school in the country,” she said.

An inquest jury returned a verdict of accidental death on Humphrey and the coroner said the car driver could not be blamed.

Ms Parris said:“We were going to visit some friends of our parents who lived at Shincliffe to deliver a Christmas card.

“On the whole we were sensible kids and had been taught to cross the road. It was one of those things.

“Humphrey decided he wanted to be on the other side of the road and he crossed on a whim without checking properly and that was it.”