A MOTORCYCLIST was killed when he lost control of his bike on a tight bend in a country lane, an inquest heard.

John Kenneth Bowden of Whitecroft View, Baxenden, died after he was thrown from his bike and into the path of a BMW in Clitheroe Road, Bashall Eaves on June 14.

An inquest into his death in Ribble Valley Town Hall today heard how the 39-year-old failed to negotiate a left hand bend and was thrown from his Triumph bike into the road.

Mr Bowden’s wife Wendy told the hearing her husband had had the motorbike for a month and that it was his first in 14 years.

The inquest also heard from the BMW driver, Thomas Hayhurst, who said there wasn’t “anything else he could have done.”

He said: “Me and my wife Sandra were on our way to the Forest of Bowland.

"I had just gone through the village of Bashall Eaves and was travelling at around 25 miles per hour.

"I was coming up to a bend when I suddenly saw a motorcyclist coming towards me at speed.

“The back end of the bike began to swing out and slipped the driver in front of my car.

"I braked and ended up in a hedge.”

After the accident, Mr Hayhurst’s wife, Sandra contacted the emergency services.

When paramedics arrived, Mr Bowden was pronounced dead at the scene.

Mr Hayhurst said: “I couldn’t have done anything else to avoid the collision and I couldnt have done anything else to help.”

An accident investigation confirmed that Mr Bowden had not been able to negotiate the bend and had subsequently braked too hard, which threw him off the bike and into the road.

Coroner Michael Singleton recorded a verdict of accidental death.

John, the son of Kenneth Bowden and the late Val, leaves his wife, Wendy, a twin sister Michelle and younger sister Sonia.

After his death, Mr Bowden was described as ‘a big character with a heart of gold who was loved by many’.