I’VE met Les Balkwell a few times.

He’s an infectious man, hell bent on getting justice for his son who was killed in the most horrific manner.

He’s never going to give up fighting.

After all Lee was his boy. Why would he?

The facts are Les simply doesn’t believe the account of events leading up to and surrounding his son’s untimely death, aged just 33.

Now he could be on the verge of a break-through.

It’s almost 15 years since Lee brutally died on a South Ockendon farm.

This week we learnt that murder squad detectives from the Metropolitan Police are being drafted in to take an even closer look at this intriguing case. After all this has become one of Thurrock’s, in fact one of Essex’s, most controversial unsolved deaths.

Les will never accept the “tragic accident” ruling.

And now the Gazette can reveal that after an intense year-long cold case probe by ex senior detectives this has led to the Met getting involved.

Les, who is now 70-years-old, is hopeful a significant break-through is on the horizon – at long last.

Les simply says he just wants justice for Lee and the truth to come out.

Old photos are supposed to be big part of the new evidence possibly revealing tell-tale injuries to Lee’s arm - police interviews with witnesses and CCTV footage are included too.

Now, for Les Balkwell and the followers of this ultimately tragic tale, it’s a case of sitting tight and waiting to see if Les was in fact right all along.