In 1987, one of Princess Diana's bodyguards was killed in an horrific crash in South Woodford. Everyone assumed it was just a tragic accident. But was it? Reporter DANIEL BINNS decided to find out more.

Just after 9.30pm on a rainy May evening, Barry Mannakee was making his way back to his home in Loughton.

Mr Mannakee, an officer in Scotland Yard's diplomatic protection squad, had hitched a ride on the back of a colleague's motorbike, and the pair were zooming along Woodford High Road after a hard day at work.

But tragedy struck when a car suddenly pulled out of sideroad Hermitage Walk, forcing his colleague to swerve and skid in an attempt to avoid a collision, throwing Mr Mannakee from the bike in the process.

He smashed into the side of the car, and was so badly injured he died almost instantly.

The driver of the car, Nicola Chopp, was later fined £85 for careless driving by police, and an inquest ruled Mr Mannakee's death had been a tragic accident.

But not everyone was convinced.

Mr Mannakee had been mysteriously removed from his job as Princess Diana's bodyguard just eight months before, apparently for "overfamiliar behaviour" with his employer.

It is widely believed the pair had been having an affair.

And then, in 2004, a dramatic tape of Diana speaking about her former bodyguard's death sent shivers down conspiracy theorists' spines.

In the tapes, which were secretly recorded in 1992 by her voice coach Peter Settelen, Diana said she believed Mr Mannakee had been "bumped off" by the security services to avoid the embarrassment to the royal family of their infatuation.

Diana also said she was "deeply in love" with Mannakee and was "quite happy to give all this up and to just go off and live with him."

And just months after the tape emerged, Ms Chopp also said she doubted whether the crash was an accident.

Ms Chopp claimed she had been pressured by police into taking responsibility for the crash, with others pointing to an unknown car seen with "dazzling lights" at the scene, which some believe was there to deliberately distract both vehicles.

Mr Mannakee, who was 14 years older than Diana, had only been the princess's bodyguard since 1985, with the pair quickly becoming the subject of public rumours.

However, Diana was regarded to have been suffering from psychological problems at the time the tape was recorded, and made a number of wild accusations at the time.

The mystery car has never been traced, but no evidence has ever been made public which Mr Mannakee's death was a conspiracy.

Investigations into the death have also emphatically ruled out foul play, and, as many residents of South Woodford well know, the High Road is a notorious spot for crashes.

The theories into the death will surely go on, but it does seem that the most plausible explanation is this was just another in a long line of tragic car crashes in east London.