FROM THE ARCHIVE: MYSTERY OF BODY FOUND IN LAB AT LANKRO CHEMICALS

Whilst *working at SalfordOnline Tony Flynn came across this rather interesting mystery from the pages of the long-defunct Eccles and Patricroft Journal from April 1966; a body found in the laboratories at Lankro Chemicals in Eccles.

Lankro is a long-established chemicals and manufacturing company just outside Eccles town centre.

It is now named Akcros Chemicals Ltd and will be familiar to the older generation, as it employed thousands of local families in the post-war period.

Lankro Chemicals – The Darapon Plant, 1966 © Peter Kilvert

Lab worker Mary Hartley, who lived at Charlton Avenue, Eccles came in one morning in April and was shocked to find the unresponsive body of a fully-clothed man lying on the floor.

His right leg was trapped underneath a mixing machine, but there were no obvious signs of trauma.

He was not a worker at Lankro’s. In fact, he had no relations working there, had no connection with the company and no reason to be in the building.

Mary quickly summoned help and police were soon on the scene.

Lankro Chemicals – Filling tanks, 1966 © Peter Kilvert

The body was later identified as 33-year-old Edward Nelson Hegan, who had been lodging in a house in Nutter Street, Salford, the previous week.

DC Edward Hughes was the first policeman on scene, at 9.15am on Thursday 7 April 1966.

He noticed on the floor of the laboratory several scrape marks about 12 inches in length, which ended underneath the machine.

The floor was described as being “slippery but not wet”.

Near the body was a small, overturned cardboard container, which was large enough to have been used as a stool.

Hegan’s body was taken to Eccles mortuary for examination.

No marks of violence were found on the body, however there were traces of blood around the man’s nostrils.

Police discovered that when Mr Hegan left his last address in Salford he was carrying a suitcase containing all his clothing and two paintings.

It was thought that he may have been sleeping rough in the Salford and Eccles area.

Lankro Chemicals – The Stripper Plant, 1966 © Peter Kilvert

The Coroner, Mr J Rothwell, adjourned the inquest until 4 May 1966.

Derek Neild, a technical services manager at Lankros, told the inquest that on the evening of Tuesday 5 April 1966 at 5.55pm he was driving away from the works when he noticed a shabbily-dressed man staggering across some wasteland close to the factory and making his way to the company gates.

He thought that the man was drunk because of the way he was lurching about and the fact that his eyes looked glazed.

A ladyfriend of Mr Hegan’s gave evidence in which she said that he was a heavy drinker and had recently come out of prison.

While in prison he had often complained of headaches to the medical authorities but they wouldn’t attend to him.

He had also been in quite a few fights recently and she said that he had one or two ‘good hidings’.

Lankro Chemicals – View towards the Oxide Plant, 1966 © Peter Kilvert

In the mortuary Mr Hegan’s body was scoured for possible long-standing injuries.

A bruise to the back of his skull was discovered – which doctors assumed was caused by him falling backwards and striking his head.

Dr Charles Hill told the inquest that he believed the cause of death was a recurrent blood haemorrhage in the brain due to an old head injury.

This would have been caused by “a severe blow could have happened several weeks ago”.

Reading between the lines it seems the poor Mr Hegan had broken into the Lankro laboratory with a view to either sleeping there or possibly stealing something of value.

Taking into account Mr Neild’s evidence that the deceased “looked drunk”, the man could have easily slipped on the wet floor and banged his head which caused his untimely death.

Summing up, the Coroner told the inquest that he could not link any injuries inflicted upon Mr Hegan to any one person at any given time.

He added that the case “absolutely bristled with doubt” and it would be impossible for a jury to convict anyone for being responsible for Mr Hegan’s death.

He returned a verdict of death by natural causes.

*Shirking