A 'SAFE and careful' motorcyclist who was killed while riding in Scotland died as the result of a tragic road traffic accident, a coroner has ruled.

Ian Greatbanks, of Nook Lane, Fearnhead, died while travelling along the A837 on April 9, Warrington Coroner's Court heard on Friday.

There were no witnesses to the accident which claimed the 52-year-old's life.

Senior coroner for Cheshire, Alan Moore, said: "We'll never really know exactly how Mr Greatbanks lost control of the vehicle, but that loss of control lead to the collision and that collision resulted in his death."

A collision investigation report concluded that the motorcycle was not speeding at the time and the vehicle was safe.

When negotiating a right hand bend, it went on to a grass verge and hit a culvert, but what caused this to happen is still unknown.

The collision threw Mr Greatbanks from the motorcycle as it tumbled down.

His wife, Susan, said her husband had been riding motorcycles for 20 to 30 years and was a very experienced and safe rider.

Senior coroner Mr Moore concluded that Mr Greatbanks had died 24 hours later from head and chest injuries sustained in a road traffic collision.