THE widow of a father-of-two who was killed by a hit-and-run driver in South Ayrshire at the weekend has made an emotional appeal for information as police continue to hunt for his killer.

Ian Brown, 48, was walking the six miles to his home in Dailly following a night out with friends at Girvan Bowling Club when he was struck and fatally injured on the B748 Girvan-Dailly road between midnight and 3.05am on Saturday.

Yesterday, his widow Myra, 47, said the family was devastated by his death.

In a statement issued by Strathclyde Police, she said: "Ian was a loving husband and father.His death has left our whole family devastated and we will miss him dearly.

"We live in a small community and are well known within that community – his death will be a great loss. I am asking anyone who knows anything, even if they think it's not relevant, to please pass it on to the police.

"It's so important to us that we find out what happened to Ian, so please, please come forward. Only when we know what happened to Ian will we be able to begin the process of moving on and trying to come to terms with his death."

Mr Brown, a maintenance worker at Network Rail for 28 years, was out with friends to celebrate the start of his summer break.

A keen bowler and golfer, he is understood to have spent the afternoon with friends at Girvan Bowling Club before the group headed into the town centre for a few drinks at around 7pm.

Mr Brown was last seen leaving a local kebab shop at around midnight before embarking on the trek home to Dailly, where he lived with Myra and their two teenage sons.

Mrs Brown said she believed her husband, who she described as a "homebody" who rarely went on nights out, must have decided to walk home after struggling to find a taxi.

Police are eager to trace Mr Brown's movements between the time he is believed to have left the takeaway and when his body was found in a dip on the B748 shortly after 3am, having apparently been knocked down and left for dead.

Sergeant Jackie Dunbar, from Strathclyde Police said: "Mr Brown was walking home to Dailly after a night out with friends at Girvan Bowling Club when it appears he was hit by a vehicle.

"He left a local kebab shop at around midnight to begin his walk home.

"I'm keen to find out exactly what happened over the next three hours."

Anyone with information about the incident can contact Strathclyde Police on 0141 532 6400.