under bombardment from bricks and stones. The first person to exit the van was Inspector Alan Murray, who had charge of the first van of Unit 1 (called Unit 1-1), and was followed by constables Bint, White, Freestone, Richardson and Scottow. Murray and his men were using riot shields, had their truncheons drawn and worked to disperse the crowd. During this action Peach received a blow on the head. Fourteen witnesses stated that they saw it happen and said that it was a police officer who struck the blow. One resident told the inquest that she: saw blue vans coming down Beachcroft Avenue. They were coming very fast − as they came round Beachcroft Avenue, they stopped. I saw policemen with shields come out − people started running and the police tried to disperse them. I saw police hitting. I saw a white man standing there ... The police were hitting everybody. People started running, some in the alley, some in my house ... I saw Peach, I then saw the policeman with the shield attack Peach. Peach was taken into a nearby house—71 Orchard Avenue—after one of the residents saw him being hit. He was given a glass of water, but could not hold it. His eyes were rolled up to the top of his head and he had difficulty speaking. The residents soon called an ambulance, which was logged at 8:12pm; it arrived within ten minutes, and Peach was taken to Ealing Hospital. He was promptly operated on because of a large extradural haematoma but his condition worsened through the procedure. He died at 12:10am on 24 April. There were 3,000 protesters in Southall on 23 April. The police arrested 345 people. 97 police were injured, as were 39 of the prisoners. 25 members of the public were also injured, of whom Peach was one. A member of the National Front was found near Southall train station, badly beaten. He spent two days in intensive care before being released. Aftermath Within a day of Peach's death, Commander John Cass of the Metropolitan Police's Complaints Investigation Bureau began an investigation of the events and statements were taken from members of the SPG that day. Sir David McNee, then the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, also undertook his own eight-day review of the demonstrations, although he did not include Peach's death as part of his analysis. The inquest opened on