Three hundred calls over biker killing

Aug 16 2007 By Mark Cowan, Birmingham Mail

POLICE probing the murder of M40 biker Gerard Tobin were today sifting through new evidence after a "positive" public response to appeals.

More than 300 people have called the incident room with information about the killing of Mr Tobin as he rode home from the Bulldog Bash on Sunday.

Detectives believe Mr Tobin was the "intended victim of a pre-planned attack" and the killers may have tailed him for five miles before opening fire.

Warwickshire Police said many of the new calls related to possible sightings of a green Rover 620 car that officers are trying to trace in connection with the killing.

A police spokesman said: "Detectives are actively following up and developing lines of inquiry."

Det Supt Ken Lawrence, who is heading the inquiry, appealed to the public to contact them with information even if they believed it to be insignificant or minor.

He said he was particularly keen to hear from anyone who may have seen the vehicle leaving the M40 south of the scene near Leamington Spa on Sunday afternoon.

Mr Tobin, 35, was head mechanic for the Harley Davidson dealership in Mottingham, south London.