A MOTORCYCLIST died after suffering severe head and neck injuries after clipping the back of a car at 106mph, an inquest has been told.

Richard Bell broke his neck when he smashed into a crash barrier on the A174 near Middlesbrough last year.

The 30-year-old IT technician suffered horrendous injuries when he came off his Honda motorbike as he was weaving in and out of lanes at high speeds in rush hour traffic at around 8.10am on October 9.

Teesside Coroner's Court heard how Mr Bell collided with a silver Volkswagen Polo on the A174 eastbound as it passed beneath Flatts Lane overbridge.

The Great North Air Ambulance was called to the collision and Mr Bell was treated at the scene before being taken by road to The James Cook University Hospital, Middlesbrough, where he died the following day.

PC Jason Malcolm, an off-duty police officer on his way to work, saw Mr Bell weaving in and out of traffic at high speed.

He said: “I couldn’t believe he was taking a risk between the moving vehicles.”

The driver of the VW Polo said she had just overtaken a van and after checking her mirrors, indicated to move back into the left hand lane.

She said: “I heard a bang and realised something had collided with the rear of my car."

PC Paul Harris of Cleveland Police’s crash investigation unit investigated the collision.

He told the court: “The average speed over the last 191 metres was 106mph. The collision between the Honda and the Volkswagen caused the rider to completely lose control.”

He concluded the accident was caused by the “excess speed of the motorcycle rider”.

Another witness, David Williams, told the court he had seen the motorbike clip the rear of the VW Polo seconds after it had sped past him on the A174.

Mr Bell’s partner of six years Chantelle Louise Collins, an accountant who lived with him at Wycherley Close, told the inquest said he had been “fine” that morning.

A post mortem report concluded that there was no drink or drugs in Mr Bell's system at the time of the accident and that he had suffered non-survivable head and neck injuries.

Acting Teesside Coroner Clare Bailey recorded a verdict of accidental death.