A 25-YEAR-OLD motorcyclist was riding at an "unbelievable" speed when he collided with a car turning through the central reservation of a dual carriageway in Whitminster, an inquest heard.

The resulting collision caused both bike and car to burst into flames and the rider, Nathan Wildsmith of Quedgeley, suffered multiple injuries from which he later died. The car driver was also seriously injured.

Gloucestershire coroner Katy Skerrett was told that, if Mr Wildsmith had been riding at the speed limit of 50mph, the car would have completed its turn before he reached it and he would have been able to take avoiding action.

She concluded that he had died as the result of a road traffic collision at Gloucester Coroner's Court last Friday.

Landscape gardener Mr Wildsmith, of Church Drive, Quedgeley, was riding down the A38 towards Bristol on August 29 last year when the accident happened in Whitminster.

The driver of the car involved, Heather Ford from Tuffley in Gloucester, told the inquest at Gloucester Coroner's Court that she had been visiting her father-in-law's home on the A38 to collect something.

She said: "My husband, who was with me, is a biker,so I'm always very careful and before I pulled out from the side of the road, I checked both my mirrors and looked over my shoulder.

"I went a few yards along the A38 towards Bristol to get to the gap in the central reservation. I looked towards Bristol and there was one car coming but I had time to pull across.

"I did not see or hear a motorbike even though I looked in my mirrors again as I turned into the gap. That is all I remember. I have no recollection of the collision at all."

She said she had suffered serious injuries in the impact and was still having counselling because of the emotional distress.

The hearing was told that the bike had hit the car as it turned and its petrol tank had become detached, spraying itself and the car with petrol, which then caught fire.

In a statement, Margaret Poole told police that as she was getting into her car in her driveway, further towards Gloucester, she heard the noise of a motorbike and saw it going past at an 'unbelievable' speed.

"My husband said that if he didn't kill himself he would probably kill someone else," she said.

Collision investigator PC David Langridge the conditions were good and had no bearing on the cause of the accident, which occurred at about 8.30am.

"I returned to the scene later with a similar car and motorcycle to carry out a reconstruction. I carried out a video run to find out what the driver could see," he went on.

"When the motorcycle first came into view, it was very difficult to see in the mirror, and it took a short while before it could clearly be seen.

"I went back a second time with a police motorcyclist, and used CCTV further up the road to compare its speed with that of Mr Wildsmith.

"This showed that he was travelling at more than 80 mph in a 50mph limit."

Asked by the coroner to explain why Mrs Ford may not have seen the biker, he said research had been carried out into how car drivers came into contact with motorcycles, and it showed car drivers commonly did not see motorcycles, whereas they would see a car.

"The motorcycle's location at the time of impact suggests Mr Wildsmith was attempting to pass the car not realising that it was turning right," he added.