BIKERS and townspeople have been united in grief after a popular pub landlord and bike club founder member died following a crash.

Warren ‘Woz’ Myers was on the return leg of a weekly ride out from his pub The Penny Gill, in Spennymoor, County Durham, when the collision occurred at around 9.50pm on Wednesday, June 22.

His Suzuki trike crashed on Brusselton Lane, Shildon, between the A68 Royal Oak and A6072 Shildon bypass.

Ambulance crews treated him at the roadside and he was taken to Darlington Memorial Hospital but died soon after arrival. Wife June was riding pillion and sustained facial injuries.

Tributes have been paid to the 49-year-old on social media and flowers have been laid at the pub.

Friend Steve Davis said: “He was genuine, down to earth, quiet but passionate, he loved the pub and people.

“I’ve been inundated with phone calls, Facebook tributes and messages for June from people who want to pay their respects.”

Originally from South Shields, Mr and Mrs Myers moved into the pub four years ago and turned it into a vibrant town centre venue with a reputation for live music and biker hospitality.

Mr Myers was a founder member of the Brigantes Brotherhood and every Wednesday there was a ride from the pub which this week went to Barnard Castle before the crash.

Friend Sarah Outhwaite said: “Woz and June made it The Penny Gill the special place it is, he loved rock music and supported local bands and he and the club were well known and liked across the North-East.”

Mr Davis added: "Woz was a friend to so many people but also a mentor and an inspiration.

"His enthusiasm for The Penny Gill was amazing, he made the pub what it is today, a pub which brings in young and old alike, from bikers, rockers, goths and music fans to karaoke kings and talented buskers.

"He built a pub which holds so many wonderful memories for so many people.

"In the days since his passing I have heard so many people speak so highly of him and the tributes continue. To me, he was a friend, a brother, a man of carefully chosen words.

"Sometimes funny, always sharp and with a quick wit. As a founder member of the Brigantes Brotherhood he was an experienced and competent rider, which makes his untimely passing all the more difficult for those are left without his presence.

"All that said, Woz was never just Woz, it was always Woz and June, where there was one there was the other, a partnership that will be missed as much as the man himself.

I will miss him deeply, we will miss him deeply."

Witnesses are asked to contact Durham police on 101.