DETECTIVES are still hunting a third man in a suspected car-jacking gone wrong – which led to a North Yorkshire grandfather being fatally injured.

James Ray, from Easingwold, died on his 70th birthday on Friday (November 13) after being attacked by a gang as he delivered washing powder to an industrial unit in Ashton-under-Lyne on Thursday afternoon.

Mr Ray and his wife Vivien ran The Spotted Ox pub in Tockwith, just west of York, for more than a decade in the 1980s and 90s. They had previously run pubs in Harrogate, including The Old Tradition, and in Wetherby.

Mr Ray, from York, a father of two and grandfather of four, was unloading washing powder from his delivery van at a laundry when he was injured at about 11.30am at the Plantation Industrial Estate in Ashton-under-Lyne, near Manchester.

He was working part-time for the family firm, based in Tockwith, York, driving a transit van delivering supplies to the cleaning industry.

He was on his only delivery of the day when he arrived in the grey Ford transit van at an industrial laundry and began to unload washing powder sacks at the premises at around 11.23am.

He suffered a massive injury to the back of his head when he fell or was pushed from the van as it was stolen, but police have not ruled out that the injury was the result of being attacked.

Mr Ray was taken to Salford Royal Hospital where he died at 5.30am on Friday.

Greater Manchester Police have arrested two men aged 23 and 44 on suspicion of murder. They have now been released on police bail. Officers are still hunting a third attacker.