A MURDER probe is underway into the death of a former Mirfield Town councillor.
Martin Walker, 57, died after an incident in a street in Scarborough – and North Yorkshire Police have confirmed a murder investigation is now ongoing.
They arrested four youths aged between 16 and 19 in connection with the father-of-one’s death.
Mr Walker – who had a 19-year-old son – had only recently got engaged and lived in Scarborough for the last eight years.
Originally from, Mirfield, he had moved to the east-coast seaside resort with his mother and sister in 2000.
He had served on the town’s council for around 12 months.
Colleague Clr Martyn Bolt – who has been a Mirfield Town councillor since 1997 and a Kirklees councillor since 1998 – said: “Mr Walker was part of the philanthropic Walker textile family who have been very good to the people of Mirfield.
“They left both Knowle House and Knowle Park to Mirfield many years ago. The Walker family have been staunch Conservative supporters and the family is very well-known in the local community.”
Clr Bolt added: “Mr Walker was a forthright character who certainly had the interests of Mirfield at heart. It was a pleasure to work with him.”
Knowle House was formerly used by the Ministry of Fisheries and Food and in more recent times has become the headquarters for Kirklees catering and cleaning.
Former Mirfield Town councillor Imelda Marsden said: “Mr Walker was a bit of a character and wasn’t afraid to say what he thought about things. His father was a town councillor before him and his family had Walker’s leather factory for many years.”
Mr Walker lived on South Street in Scarborough and had become engaged earlier this year to his fiancee who lives in the resort.
His fiancee and the rest of Mr Walker’s family are too distressed to talk about his death at the moment.
He was allegedly assaulted on South Street near to its junction with Alga Terrace at about 11pm on Monday, June 23.
Police say he was taken by ambulance to Scarborough Hospital with a serious head injury, but discharged himself later.
But in the early hours of Wednesday, June 25, he was re-admitted to the hospital and died there on Tuesday, July 1.
A North Yorkshire Police spokesman said: “The four local males aged 18, 19 and two 16-year-olds who were arrested on suspicion of murder have been released on police bail pending further inquiries.”
Mr Walker was educated at Mirfield Grammar School before continuing his education at Bradford University where he gained an honours degree.
He went on to build a career as a computer analyst, working for a number of large companies across Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.
Mr Walker’s main hobbies and interests revolved around the Territorial Army and his love of trains.
It is hoped that further post-mortem tests on Mr Walker’s body will reveal more about how he died after an initial examination proved inconclusive.
The investigation is running from the incident room at Scarborough police station.
