A PENSIONER has died after a hit-and-run crash in Poole.

He has been named locally as Chris Colegate.

On Monday, his grieving family urged the driver of the car to come forward.

The 69-year-old was knocked down at the junction of Darby’s Lane and Heath Avenue before being taken by ambulance to Poole Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Police cordoned off the junction after the crash happened at around 7.15pm on Friday and are trying to find out which vehicle was involved and who the driver was.

The pensioner has not been formally identified. But friends and neighbours paid tribute, saying he had served in the Royal Navy before becoming a welder.

Friends at the Oakdale Conser-vative club on Darby’s Lane said he left behind a wife and two daughters.

They said he walked with two sticks after a serious motorbike accident and was a regular at the club.

Douglas Cave, 75, who has known the victim since he was a teenager, said: “We are all very upset as he was very well-known around here.

“He was probably on his way to the club because he would always come at around that time on a Friday.

“I saw a lump in the road and the whole area was cordoned off on Friday, but I didn’t know it was him at first. “It is so sad because I’ve known him since he was a teenager and he was incapacitated because of a serious motorbike accident.”

One friend who wished to remain anonymous said: “He was an absolutely lovely man and always smiled and waved whenever I saw him. He was a regular at the Conservative club, everyone knew him.”

Gwen Albert, 84, who lives on Darby’s Lane, said: “It sounds like a really horrible and tragic accident. The junction is particularly difficult because often people don’t look both ways and there are cars blocking the view.

“I’ve seen two accidents whilst I’ve lived here. I’m so sad to hear the news.”

Chief Inspector Tracey Baker, of Dorset Police “urged” the driver of the vehicle involved to come forward.

"We are also urgently trying to locate any witnesses to the collision,” she said.

“Officers are investigating how the man came to be injured.

“Anyone who saw an elderly man walking in the area or anyone with information should contact Dorset Police on 101.”