A MISJUDGEMENT on a bend cost a motorcyclist his life in what a coroner described as a 'very tragic event'.

An inquest into the death of Spennymoor biker Gordon Hall heard that the 58-year-old was out riding his Harley Davidson with his friend Tim Lerner on March 23 when tragedy stuck.

The pair were on their way to Masham and Mr Hall was following Mr Lerner on the B6271 near Kiplin Hall in North Yorkshire when he came into difficulty on a series of bends.

Speaking at the inquest in Northallerton yesterday, PC Paddy Green said evidence suggested that the footpeg of Mr Hall's Harley scraped the road in the bend causing him to either brake or upright the motorbike himself.

This meant he crossed onto the other side of the road and collided with an oncoming car, suffering fatal injuries.

The car driver, Catherine Clark, was visibly emotional as she told the inquest that she was driving at around 40 or 50mph when she felt the 'full impact' of the motorbike hit her vehicle.

She was trapped in her car for around ten minutes until the emergency services arrived but was not seriously injured.

In a statement, retired police officer Mr Lerner said he was a lifelong friend of Mr Hall's and the pair were extremely safety-conscious whenever they went out riding together.

Describing the day of the accident, he said they were travelling at speeds between 50 and 60mph and were communicating via a bluetooth device in their helmets,

In the moment before the crash he heard Mr Hall shout out.

He said: "This caused me to look into my mirror and I saw and heard a large impact between Gordon and the car that had just passed.

"I was turning round and talking to Gordon through the headset but getting no response."

After the emergency services arrived, air ambulance paramedic Jo Paterson said he recognised that Mr Hall was dead at 2.46pm.

In a statement, Mr Hall's wife Sandra described him as "the most generous, caring and loving person" she had ever known who was very family-orientated with a close relationship with their daughter Charlotte.

She said that his passing had left a hole in their lives and although she was grateful for the time that they had spent with him, she was saddened that he would miss out on their future and the retirement that he had worked so hard for.

Offering his condolences to the family, Coroner Richard Watson concluded that Mr Hall died as a result of a road traffic incident.

Speaking afterwards, his brother Alan Hall stressed that he was a careful biker, saying: "He and Tim were not daft riders, they were conscientious riders, and Tim especially being an ex-policeman, they did not break the law."