Father killed by car after Christmas night-out as he walks on pavement

FRIENDS and family have paid tribute to a father-of-two who died after he was hit by a car on a pavement as he walked home from a night out.

Gavin Fulton, a keen squash player, was knocked down as he walked home from a pre-Christmas social with friends from his former workplace at Hewlett Packard.

The electronics engineer, from Bellevue in Edinburgh, died after being taken to hospital in the early hours of Saturday following the incident in the city’s Dundas Street.

A 50-year-old man has been arrested over the incident.

On the Friday before he died, Mr Fulton, 43, won his squash league at Grange Squash Club in Edinburgh.

Friends at the club have left a whitewashed “ghost racquet” at the spot where he was knocked down in his memory.

Mr Fulton’s family described him as “one of life’s really good guys”, and colleagues said they were “shattered” by his death.

His wife, Jill, 41, said: “Gavin and I taught our children to be road-wise and stay on the pavements where they are safe.

“Mia, Faye and I along with Gavin’s family are devastated that he was not safe on the pavement. We have lost the most amazing husband, father, son and brother.”

His father, Bill, said: “Gavin lived for his family, he was much loved and we will all miss him very much.”

He is survived by daughters Mia, 12, and Faye, 10, whom he had been due to take to compete in the Inverleith Swimming Club championships on the day he died.

Mr Fulton was a poolside timekeeper for the club, and the championships will go ahead with the name “Gavin’s Gala” in his honour.

His friends and neighbours plan to plant a tree in his memory in Inverleith Park, where he walked his two dogs for many years.

Gordon Tolland, secretary of the Grange sports club, said: “He was certainly one of our top players. Obviously everyone is pretty shocked.” A post on the Grange Squash Club’s Facebook page said: “Gavin was a great guy to be around, always smiling and recounting funny stories from the squash courts of Agilent [at South Queensferry] and Grange.”

The man charged in relation to the incident was due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court yesterday.

Police were also keen to trace a man who was wearing a mustard-coloured jacket or shirt who was seen in the area around the time of the collision, which happened at 1:20am on Saturday.

Anyone with any information should contact Lothian and Borders Police on 0131 311 3131, or 
alternatively the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.