An inquest into the death of a Baildon race champion killed in practices at the Isle of Man TT races has heard he skidded on oil.

David Jefferies, who was 30, died on May 29 this year after an 180mph accident at Crosby.

The race legend was on the second lap of the 37-mile course when the accident happened.

Isle of Man Coroner of Inquests Michael Moyle recorded a verdict of death by misadventure.

He heard evidence from Mr Jefferies' fellow riders including his TAS Suzuki teammate Adrian Archibold and John McGuinness, another high profile competitor who was also a close friend of Mr Jefferies.

Mr McGuinness told the inquest that Mr Jefferies, who held the record for the fastest lap ever on the TT course, had skidded on oil on the road. He died instantly of multiple injuries.

Mr McGuinness said marshals failed to indicate to riders behind Mr Jefferies that there was oil on the road or that a serious accident had occurred. He said: "There was never an oil flag shown. If this was a British Championship or Superbikes event they would have stopped the practice immediately and gone and assessed the situation."

Arnold Wither, the first marshal on the scene, said he had not initially seen oil on the road but later noticed a thin film of it.

He said he did not know of any laid-down procedures for dealing with fatalities.

The Coroner said any evidence of what might have caused the crash would have been removed immediately so that practices could continue.

He said: "A proper police investigation would have meant closing the road for several hours and that could have been the death knell for the famous road races." Mr Jefferies knew of the dangers of road racing.

Mr Jefferies' family, who live in Baildon, did not attend the inquest.

The biker first rode a motobike at the age of seven, started motocross aged 14 and began road racing in 1990.

Among his titles were two British Championships and 18 major wins in the 1999 season, as well as World Cups, Scarborough Cups and Grands Prix.