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MOTORCYCLIST Graham Vickers was twice the legal drink-drive limit when he hit a roundabout, an inquest heard in Dorchester.

The Triumph machine ended up on top of its rider in the early morning accident at Charmouth.

West Dorset Coroner Michael Johnston heard that a car driver and his passenger stopped at the scene within moments and found Mr Vickers unconscious in the centre of the roundabout.

But emergency services told them not to touch the motorbike and the rider stopped breathing as a fire engine arrived.

The fire crew lifted the 451lb motorbike off the rider and spent several minutes giving chest massage and oxygen to the rider before he was taken away in an ambulance.

But Mr Vickers, a tree surgeon, died three days later at Southampton General Hospital from pulmonary oedema and bronchial pneumonia and hypoxic brain injury caused by loss of oxygen. A post-mortem could not confirm whether the weight of the motorcycle caused the brain injury or whether it was due to another factor that obstructed the breathing.

PC Gary Wandless, a police forensic accident investigator, said marks on the road suggested that Mr Vickers had approached the Wood Farm roundabout on the A35 in an upright position instead of leaning into a curve. He had braked hard but carried straight on until his motorcycle had fallen to its nearside and then crashed into the centre of the roundabout.

He said the replica Triumph Bonneville had probably not been travelling at a high speed and had been in good condition before the accident.

He said Mr Vickers had taken an unusual line of approach if he was intending to go into Charmouth. He added: "Alcohol was at twice the legal alcohol level. That's likely to have been a factor in this accident."

During the inquest Mr Johnston heard that Mr Vickers, 48, who was divorced and lived in Wesley Close, Charmouth, had visited his girlfriend Janice Giordimaina at the Axminster pub where she worked.

She said they had planned to stay at the pub that night but he left after drinking four or five pints during the evening, returned later to collect his helmet and motorbike and went off in the early hours. The accident happened about half an hour before sunrise.

Mr Johnston recorded a verdict of accident.

He said tiredness and alcohol might have affected Mr Vickers, causing him to fail to negotiate a roundabout that he must have known well.

9:38am Thursday 28th August 2008

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