THE father of a Down's Syndrome man killed in a road accident will today stage a protest against the organisation he blames for the tragedy.

Richard Doyle, 26, suffered fatal injuries when he was struck by a Ford Transit on the A19 near Crathorne, North Yorkshire, after he went missing from the Larchfield working farm community for disabled people, in Hemlington, Middlesbrough, on December 28, 2000.

His father, Ken, 63, is demanding that the Camphill Village Trust, which runs Larchfield, acknowledges that it neglected Richard that night.

Today - on what would have been his son's 30th birthday - the former Army major will demonstrate outside Larchfield.

The jury at an inquest into Richard's death returned a verdict of accidental death, caused partly by neglect at Larchfield.

Richard's sister, Helen, told the hearing that when she rang to speak to her brother on the night he went missing, his carer, Elisabeth Luedemann-Ravit, told her she did not know where he was and "wasn't going chasing after him".

Mr Doyle, of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, also alleges that Camphill did not tell police another female carer was in the house at the time, so she could not be called as a witness at the inquest. He wants police to question Larchfield staff again.

Mr Doyle said: "All I really want are answers to what happened to my son on that night after he was left wandering around in the snow for five-and-a-half hours."

The Camphill Village Trust issued a statement saying it had extended its deepest sympathies to Richard's family. "Everybody who knew Richard there, and all members of the Camphill Village Trust, were deeply shocked and saddened when he left our premises - as he was free to do - without informing a member of staff, and became subsequently involved in a tragic accident.

"Following Richard's inquest, we commissioned a full professional review by a firm of independent experts into Richard's provision at Larchfield and the events of that fateful night.

"Mr Doyle was cordially invited and encouraged to play a full part in this review, and he declined."

A police spokeswoman said: "There is no reason to re-open the investigation."