The family of a 21-year-old Bradford man killed when his car hit a lamp-post as he fled police are demanding a full inquiry into his death.

They say they need to know the circumstances surrounding the accident and are demanding answers.

Umar Ahmed, of Waverley Road, Great Horton, was taken to Bradford Royal Infirmary with critical injuries after he was cut free from the wreckage of his car in Little Horton Lane, Little Horton.

He was transferred to Leeds General Infirmary where he died four days later from his injuries.

The pursuit had begun when police officers in a marked patrol car became suspicious of his Suzuki Swift in the Canterbury area of the city at about 11pm last Wednesday.

A Bradford South police spokesman said Mr Ahmed stopped initially but then sped off when police tried to speak to him.

"After a short distance the officers lost sight of the vehicle and after a short time they found the vehicle had collided with the lamp-post outside St Luke's Hospital," said the spokesman.

Mr Ahmed's cousin Amar Zabir, 20, said the family was completely devastated by his death.

"So many questions are running in and out of our minds about what happened that fateful night," he said. "We will not be able to put Umar's memory to rest until we have found out exactly what happened to him."

The case has been passed on to the Independent Police Complaint's Commission by the West Yorkshire Police's professional standards unit because it involved a chase with a police vehicle and an investigation is under way.

It is the third serious smash involving West Yorkshire Police in a month.

Mr Zabir said his cousin had been in trouble with the police for minor incidents before but had just turned a corner.

"It is even more devastating because he was really trying hard to put his life back on the right tracks," said Mr Zabir. "He had enrolled in college and was working at the Bingo Hall in Bradford."

He said Mr Ahmed, who is survived by his brother Usman, 20, was popular and loved to spend time with his friends.

"We used to play snooker together and he would always have us in stitches, he was a very funny person who can never be replaced," said Mr Zabir.

Mr Ahmed's funeral was held on Wednesday and his body was flown back to Pakistan for burial yesterday.

"His mother and his brother said they will not come back to England because there are too many painful memories of their loved one," said Mr Zabir.