A SAFE and competent motorcyclist died after inexplicably mounting a pavement and crashing into gates, an inquest heard.

Mark Ramsden, aged 51, crashed his Suzuki 1200cc Bandit motorcycle on King Street in Farnworth and died of multiple injuries.

The grandfather was passionate about motorbikes, having held a licence since 1999, assistant coroner Rachael Griffin heard .

His mother, Pauline Ramsden, said he got his latest motorbike in 2013 but would only ride it in good weather and was always cautious.

In a statement, his partner Tracy Foster, said that on the afternoon of September 14 last year she went to work, leaving him cleaning his motorcycle at their home in Bradford Road, Farnworth.

He told her he planned to go for a ride afterwards.

Witness Donald Whitehead told the Bolton inquest that he was walking along King Street that afternoon when he heard a motorbike behind him and turned round to see it near Farnworth Leisure Centre.

“He was coming round the corner nice and bonny – not speeding,” he added.

There were no other vehicles on the road, the road was dry and there were no obstacles, but Mr Whitehead said the bike suddenly crashed and Mr Ramsden was flung against a low wall.

Miss Griffin heard that Mr Ramsden had not been drinking and drugs he took for bronchitis would not have affected his ability to control the motorbike.

Police collision reconstruction officer PC Adrian Pye told the court that the motorbike had been travelling at 25mph in the 30mph zone and CCTV from the nearby Asda supermarket showed him riding upright and in full control of the vehicle in the seconds before the accident.

His examination of the scene showed the motorbike was upright and brakes briefly applied when it mounted a kerb and crashed into metal gates. But he added there was nothing mechanically wrong with the motorbike or any obvious cause of the accident.

Miss Griffin commented that Mrs Ramsden could have had a momentary lapse of concentration or been distracted immediately prior to the crash.

She concluded that he died as a consequence of a road traffic collision.

“It was very out of character for Mark as I am satisfied he was a very competent driver,” she said.

“Mark was obviously very much loved and treasured by his family members. It is very sad that, in a moment, such a tragic loss occurred.”