A MOTORCYLIST may have lost control of his high-powered machine before it skidded into an oncoming car, an inquest heard yesterday.

Graham Bawn, a 32-year-old development engineer from Newlands Road, in Durham, broke his neck and died instantly in the accident on the A689 at Cowshill, Weardale, in September.

Because there were no witnesses, a police expert spent hours trying to establish a cause by reconstructing the incident using skid tests, gouge marks on the road and the report of pathologist Dr Clive Bloxham.

Mr Bawn's 900cc Kawasaki Ninja skidded under the front of Helen Urwin's Jeep Cherokee, the inquest in Bishop Auckland was told.

Ms Urwin, from Rookhope, said that Mr Bawn was at an unusual angle when he rode round a corner towards her.

PC Michael Baxter, who carried out the reconstruction, said the victim had probably lost control of the machine.

He said: "I believe that, on seeing the approaching car, he realised he was going to collide with it and had made a conscious decision to down the motorcycle. In the process, his foot or feet may have been trapped in the bike."

Fellow rider John Bowery, who tried to give first aid to his friend, said: "I am a family man and so are the majority of the group who were riding with us that day.

"I have always found Mr Bawn to be a first-class rider. He sought throughout to improve his riding skills. That was what he was about."

Darlington and South Durham coroner Colin Penna recorded a verdict of accidental death.