A MOTORCYCLIST who killed a pensioner while over the legal alcohol limit has been warned to expect a prison sentence "of some length".

Helen Doherty, 78, died after being struck by a Lexmoto motorbike ridden by Simon Coker in Colburn, North Yorkshire, last August.

Coker was due to go on trial yesterday when he admitted a charge of causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit.

The 32-year-old had his Teesside Crown Court case adjourned until next month so background reports can be prepared by a probation worker.

Coker, of Castle Hill, in nearby Richmond, was given bail by Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, until his next appearance on August 14.

Community stalwart Mrs Doherty was walking when she was struck by the motorbike on Forest Drive, Colburn, at 10.45am on August 13 last year.

The Northern Echo: TRIBUTES: Flowers laid in memory of Colburn grandmother Helen Doherty

TRIBUTES: Flowers laid in memory of Colburn grandmother Helen Doherty

She was taken to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, by the Yorkshire Air Ambulance, where she died from her injuries.

Numerous floral tributes were left near the scene and hundreds of tributes were paid to grandmother Mrs Doherty on social media.

Richmondshire district councillor and Colburn town councillor Helen Grant said: “It was my great pleasure to know Helen and to see her kindness and generosity first hand.

“She was affectionately known, not just by her immediate family, but by many, as Aunty Helen.

“She always attended community events in Colburn along with her close friends.

“I find it difficult to imagine her not being at afternoon teas, dances, meetings, fundraisers and the like.

“I am sure the community will again, draw together, and send her on her untimely way with the love she was regarded with.”

Coker had admitted a less serious charge of causing death by careless driving at an earlier hearing, but it was not accepted by prosecutors.

His barrister, Rod Hunt, a said there could be a dispute about the exact alcohol reading at the time of the accident – as a "back-calculation" had to be made because it was some time afterwards before Coker was arrested.

He accepted, however, that his client would have been about three times the legal limit of 35 microgrammes in 100 millilitres of breath.

"Although there is some discussion about the reading, it doesn't affect the plea and the defendant will accept whatever reading is said to be accurate by the experts," said Mr Hunt. "It is based on a back-calculation, which is not an exact science."

Coker was told by Judge Bourne-Arton: "As you know, a sentence of imprisonment is inevitable in this case.

"The length of that sentence may be affected by the contents of the pre-sentence report and what Mr Hunt says on your behalf, but it will be a custodial sentence of some length."