A taxi driver has told how he tried to help a teenager who had been left for dead in the middle of a road.

Craig Brierley told the Keighley News he was on his way back to town from a job in Sutton in his dark green Ford Mondeo when he came across 18-year-old Stuart Lister.

He raised the alarm and Stuart, of Thornhill Road, Steeton, was rushed to Leeds General Infirmary.

Stuart, who had been on a life-support machine, died on Tuesday despite the efforts of doctors who carried out two brain operations. His parents Christine and Keith, brother Jason and sister Joanne were at his bedside when he died.

As Mr Brierley spoke, police released a closed-circuit TV picture showing Stuart walking from Oscars nightclub in Keighley around 1am on Saturday. He was crossing Worth Way-East Parade to-wards Hanover Street.

He was wearing light-coloured trousers and a light-coloured top with a dark collar. But exactly how, when and where he left the town to return home remains a mystery.

Insp Mick Hopwood asks: "Did he get a lift, did he get a taxi, or did he walk? We would like to hear from anyone who was with or who may have seen Stuart, particularly between the time he left Oscars and being found in Steeton."

Stuart, who had been on a night out with a cousin in Keighley, was found with serious head injuries in the road at Steeton in the early hours of Saturday.

Mr Brierley, 26, a part-time driver with North Street-based Keighley Taxis, says: "I was driving back towards Keighley when I saw someone in the road.

"It was a man and he was lying about two feet into the road, just past the Aireburn Garage. I rang Keighley police and told them I thought he was drunk and needed to be moved because he was in a dangerous position."

Mr Brierley then got out of the car and realised it was more serious. "I saw blood coming from the man's ear and telephoned an ambulance straight away," he says.

He stayed with Stuart until the police and an ambulance arrived a few minutes later. Two of his colleagues from Keighley Taxis also went to the scene to see if they could help.

"I checked his pulse and he was still breathing," says Mr Brierley. "But he was unconscious. Other than the bleeding from his ear, he did not appear to have any injuries."

Keighley police say they still have an open mind on what caused the head injuries which killed Stuart, a former South Craven School pupil who worked at Abbey Art Stone in Keighley. But it is believed he may have fallen from or off a vehicle.

Insp Hopwood adds: "As a result of a post-mortem examination we now know that Stuart's death was related to a road-traffic incident.

"It's not being treated as a murder inquiry. It's being treated as a serious road-traffic incident.

"Because of the nature of his injuries whoever has been involved will certainly know about it and we would like to speak to them."

Stuart had got engaged to his girlfriend, Sarah Marklew, 14, just before Christmas and the couple were planning to get married when she was 16. She has also made a heartfelt plea for information.

"It's devastated us all," she says. "So many people cared for Stuart. He was really popular with everyone.

"We just want anyone with information to come forward, even if they don't think it matters and it's only to say they saw him crossing the street at a certain time and place."

Stuart's mum Christine says: "We just want to know what happened to Stuart and how someone could leave him like that."

Stuart's aunt, Myra Haughey, of Keighley, whose son Gareth, 18, was with his cousin in Oscars on Friday night, says: "Gareth was at the hospital when he died and is just heartbroken about it."

South Craven head-teacher John Vickers says: "He is well remembered in school and we were very shocked by the news. His death has affected a lot of pupils very deeply. All our thoughts are with his family."

Anyone with information about the incident should call Keighley police on 01535 617059.

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