Hislop death inquiry venue switch

Hislop died in the crash in the Borders in July 2003

A fatal accident inquiry into the death of motorcycling star Steve Hislop has been moved from Jedburgh to Edinburgh.

A new date has also been fixed with the five-day inquiry expected to get under way on 28 April.

The decision to move the hearing was made because of the effect it would have had on court business at Jedburgh.

The former British Superbike champion was flying alone from the Borders to Buckinghamshire when his helicopter hit hills south of Hawick on 30 July 2003.

The inquiry had been due to be held in the Borders in December last year.

However, a preliminary hearing will now take place on 8 April at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The full inquiry will then be heard at the same venue by the Sheriff Principal of Lothian and Borders, Edward Bowen, 20 days later.

Mr Hislop's mother, Margaret, said she had hoped the proceedings would not need to be moved.

'Get the truth'

"It would have been preferable if the inquiry had been held locally in Jedburgh as it would have been easier to get to but it is out of our hands," she said.

"The main thing is that it will now hopefully be going ahead on 28 April at long last and that I will get the truth into what happened to my son."

Relatives and friends have campaigned for an inquiry into the 41-year-old Borders racer's death for some time.

An Air Accident Investigation Branch report into the tragedy in 2005 said the accident was caused by the rotors striking the helicopter's boom.

However, it added that an aircraft malfunction "could not be eliminated".