DEVASTATED dad Jake Bowden made a heartfelt plea on national television to find the driver of the car that killed his son Paul.

Police say his appeal may have brought them a vital lead in the hunt.

Mr Bowden appeared on BBC's Crimewatch, on Wednesday night, in the hope that the driver could be found or would come forward.

He told viewers: 'Paul was my best man two years ago when I got married and the fact we chose him to do that speaks volumes of the kind of boy he was. He was a boy who grew into a lovely young man. The whole family are totally devastated by what happened. He was a very kind, caring and loving boy.'

University student Paul, 20, of Gryms Dyke, Prestwood, was found dead on the A404 Amersham Road near Woodrow, between Hazlemere and Amersham, in the early hours of June 25. He had been walking back from The Orchard Country Club nightclub in Hazlemere.

Officers at the Amersham traffic unit manned six phone lines, until midnight, taking calls in response to the appeal on Crimewatch, as did the Crimewatch studio itself.

Sergeant Phil Haseler headed the incident room at Amersham and also made an appeal on the programme. He said, yesterday, police were investigating the strongest lead yet as a result of the programme and had more than 40 calls from the public.

He said: 'We are very interested in an anonymous call giving us a name and we are following this up in our inquiries. It is very early days yet, but we think it is probably someone outside the area.'

He added: 'The family need to have certain questions answered about what happened, how it happened and why. Anyone who has experienced grief of this kind needs to know who is responsible.'

Paul's cousins Warren and Ainsley Lush visited the scene of the accident on Tuesday where flowers still lay in Paul's memory.

They put up notices to tell passing motorists about the national appeal.

Mr Lush, 23, said: 'At the moment the family are devastated and it feels dreadful not to know what happened.

He added: 'We are just hoping someone will come forward.'

Police still do not know whether Paul's death was the result of a hit-and-run or if the driver involved was not aware of the death which had resulted from the accident.

Sgt Haseler appealed to the Crimewatch audience, saying: 'It was a dark stretch of road and Paul was wearing dark clothing, so it is possible the driver of the car thought they had hit something else in the road. That person knows that is not the case and that a death has been caused and we would like them to come forward.'

PC Phil Murphy, manning one of the phonelines, said that forensic experts had found flakes of blue paint at the scene and on Paul's body and believe that it may have come from one of three makes of car, a Vauxhall Frontera, Ford Galaxy or Mercedes M-series.

Police are asking for any information, including from dealerships who may have repaired bumpers on these cars, to come forward and call Sgt Haseler on (01494) 736723