Deputy Chief Constable Bill Brereton is taking legal advice

Deputy Chief Constable Bill Brereton is considering further action after 20-year-old Jennifer was killed when the tailpack became detached from her high-powered Suzuki motorcycle, causing it to crash.

Oxford Products Ltd admitted selling the Oxford Sports Deluxe Tailpack without sufficient instructions.

Jennifer Brereton, who had bought the luggage carrier,was killed in the single-vehicle road crash.

Speaking after the conviction on Thursday, Mr Brereton said: "Oxford Products have today admitted the inadequacy of their instructions.

I am determined to pursue this Deputy Chief Constable Bill Brereton

"This confirmed what I have been saying all along, that inadequate instructions can result in serious consequences as was the case with my daughter's death.

"Nothing can bring Jenny back but clearly I will now be taking legal advice.

"I am determined to pursue this," he added.

Magistrates in Oxford heard that the tailpack became wedged between the rear wheel of the machine and the main framework.

Warning

It had locked the wheel completely, making it virtually impossible to rotate.

Mr Brereton was riding a short distance behind his daughter when the crash happened on the M53 motorway in Wirral, Merseyside, on 26 May, 2001.

He told an inquest in the Wirrall into the death in March that he saw the tailpack come loose and tried to warn his daughter.

"I clearly remember the blue tailpack starting to look loose. It didn't look right.

"I started to flash Jenny, I'm not sure if I actually did. I think I did but things happened very fast.

"The next thing the bag came loose and fouled Jenny's wheel," he said.

'Sufficient instruction'

On Thursday director Andrew Hammond, who appeared in Oxford Magistrates' Court on behalf of the motorcycle company, admitted three charges of supplying unsafe products.

Mark Williams, prosecuting on behalf of Oxfordshire Trading Standards, said: "Examinations revealed that the tailpack had become detached from the bike and was wedged between the rear wheel and the main framework.

"The underlying factor was that the tailpack did not give the user sufficient instruction on how to use their product, thus making it unsafe," he said.

The court heard that trading standards were not for a moment suggesting that the bag in itself had caused the accident.

'Deeply apologetic'

Prashant Popat, defending, said his clients regretted that the prosecution was brought against them and had co-operated fully with trading standards to rectify the problem.

"The defect here is not that of the product, but the failure to include sufficient instructions on its use and fixtures,"" he said.

"The company thought it was including the instructions in its packaging but obviously something went wrong for which they are deeply apologetic.

"The company has learned its lesson," he added.

Oxford Products Ltd was fined �2,500 and ordered to pay �13,700 in prosecution costs.