MIDDLE-AGED men returning to motorcycling after a long absence are set to be targeted in new Government plans to cut the numbers of biker deaths.

Officials say that born-again bikers aged between 30 and 60 often ride powerful machines they are unable to control.

They are likely to have given up their bikes in favour of a family car but get back into motorbiking in a bid to recapture their lost youth.

Police in North Yorkshire, where 28 motorcyclists died last year and 11 have been killed so far this year, say the problem is serious on the county's roads, with people spending thousands of pounds on bikes that are too powerful for them.

In three-quarters of the 60 serious or fatal crashes in North Yorkshire last year, the riders were judged to be to blame, and one in three of the county's road deaths was a rider or pillion passenger of a motorcycle.

Nationally, motorcycle deaths rose by 14 per cent last year and there were more motorcycle casualties among the 30-39 age group than in any other category.

The Advisory Group on Motorcycling has been consulted by the Department for Transport over a national motorcycling strategy.

The group has come up with a range of recommendations to cut the number of biker deaths and injuries.

The Department for Transport will announce its proposals in the autumn, but they are thought to include plans to make riders returning to biking after long absences undergo training and retake their test, to prove they can handle riding a smaller bike before they move to bikes over 400cc.

A Department for Transport spokesman said: "We are concerned about the number of motorcyclist deaths, especially born-again bikers. There are some people who give up bikes then come back to it ten or 15 years later, and cannot handle the bikes.

"There are quite a few recommendations in the report, like requiring people to retake their test, but we have just received the report and we are still digesting it."

North Yorkshire Police last week welcomed bikers travelling to the British Superbikes Championship, at Croft, near Darlington, on August 13-15, but warned them to stay within the law.