Coroner pays tribute to IRA victim's family

(First Edition)

THE FAMILY of the IRA pub-bombing victim, David Heffer, yesterday heard a coroner pay tribute to their generosity in donating their son's organs.

Mr Heffer, 30, a psychiatric nurse, of Bonchurch Road, Notting Hill, west London, died in hospital on Tuesday from injuries received in Monday's blast at the Sussex in Covent Garden.

During a two-minute hearing at St Pancras coroner's court in north London, Mr Heffer's grief-stricken mother Lesley had to be comforted by family and friends.

The victim's father, Brian Heffer, a postman, of Luton, Bedfordshire, formally identified his son in the witness box at yesterday's hearing. Dr Douglas Chambers, coroner for Inner North London, said: 'For the moment we have done as much as we can.'

Scotland Yard said a post-mortem examination yesterday, carried out by a Home Office pathologist, Dr Iain West, concluded Mr Heffer died from head injuries.

With the investigation into the bombing continuing, a date was not set for the full inquest, but the body was released for the funeral.