Image taken before man, 26, was killed by punch after blow-up doll hit girlfriend was ‘one frame away’ from catching killer

A decade after a man was killed with one punch, police have admitted just how close they were to catching the assailant.

Robert Hart attended Manchester’s Parklife event in June 2014, when he was punched by an unknown man in his 20s.

According to witnesses, he had gotten into an argument with the man after a blow up-doll in the crowd hit his girlfriend, Gemma.

The 26-year-old was said to have been knocked to the ground after confronting the man right after Gemma fell and died in hospital days later.

Gemma told BBC’s Crimewatch show: “There was an inflatable doll. It got chucked over once then chucked back over. The second time, it hit me and covered me in mud.

“And that’s when Rob turned around. He actually said he didn’t want any trouble. And that’s when they have turned into a scuffle.

Robert Hart was attending the event with his girlfriend (GMP)

“I was trying to get Rob away and that’s when I got knocked over. And then it was only within seconds that he came down next to me.

“Someone just said to me ‘we have got him back’. The next thing I knew he was just apologising to me. He was dazed, you know. You think because people are telling you he is alright, he is alright. He was far from it really.”

Since March this year, police have been offering a £50,000 reward to anyone who finds the person who caused Robert’s death.

Now, they have opened up about how close they were to cracking the case, but they’re just not there yet.

According to the Daily Mail, Detective Superintendent Phil Reade said back in 2015: “The investigation into the death of Robert Hart has been one of the most challenging I have been involved with as a detective.

“Since that fateful day almost a year ago, no stone has been left unturned in a bid to find the man who attacked Robert.”

They believe the killer has been photographed (GMP)

He shared that police ‘have travelled the length and breadth of the country and our officers have thoroughly investigating each of the 227 names given to us by members of the public in the course of the investigation’.

However, ‘all of those people have since been eliminated’.

Reade added: “Not only that, but we have meticulously reviewed hundreds of hours of video footage and forensically examined many hundreds of photos provided by media outlets, Parklife organisers and members of the public.

“We have been within a few feet of having seeing this man in a picture and being able to identify him, but unfortunately the shot we need has eluded us.

“That is why this push for anyone who was at Parklife last year to send in any footage or pictures they may have of the event is so important.

“Robert’s attacker is on one of those photos somewhere, but we still need the public’s help to find him and bring some peace to the loved ones he has left behind.”

The perpetrator has been described as ‘mixed race, in his mid-20s, around 6ft to 6ft 2in tall, of muscular build with short, dark hair which was shaved at the sides’.