A motorcyclist who died after losing control of his machine on a bend had drunk the equivalent of at least ten pints of beer, an inquest heard.

David Maskell, 39, was catapulted from the bike after it struck a crash barrier at the Flappit crossroads, near Keighley, in April.

He hit a telegraph pole and died at the scene from multiple injuries. His woman passenger, though seriously injured, survived.

Tests later showed Mr Maskell, of Albion Street, Cross Roads, near Keighley, had a blood alcohol level nearly three and a half times the legal limit for driving.

Recording an accident verdict, Bradford Coroner Roger Whittaker repeated warnings about the dangers of drinking and driving.

"There is no way that a person who has consumed alcohol to this extent should be in charge of a vehicle,'' he said. "It is fortuitous that no-one else was killed and no other vehicle was involved.''

In a statement, Bernice Reeve said she saw Mr Maskell in the Royal pub in Denholme and he offered her a lift into Keighley after she had missed the bus.

She remembered borrowing a crash helmet and setting off behind him but could not recall any more until she woke up in hospital.

She said Mr Maskell did not normally drive when he was out drinking.

Robert Ford told the hearing how he was driving towards Keighley when he was overtaken by two motorcycles, the second one driven by Mr Maskell.

As he approached some bends, he saw the bike bounce off the barrier and two people fly through the air.

"It was like watching something off the TV - it didn't seem real,'' he added.

Keith Reyner, a civilian employee of the police accident investigation branch, said the motorcycle had gone wide on the bend and there had been a glancing impact with the crash barrier.

The bike had then followed the line of the barrier, but the momentum had thrown off the driver and pillion passenger.

The Coroner said Mr Maskell must have been "substantially inebriated'' and had not appreciated the severity of the bend and the speed at which he was approaching it.

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