A young dad was killed when his high-powered motorbike clipped a car, throwing him into the path of another vehicle, an inquest heard.

Coronor David Hinchliff heard that moments before the accident Andrew Pollard, 30, of Charterhouse Road, Idle, had gone "flying past'' another motorist on the A658 Harrogate Road at Yeadon.

The Leeds inquest heard that Mr Pollard's 600cc Kawasaki ZX6R Ninja had clipped the back of an Austin Metro, which was waiting to turn right off Harrogate Road into the Coney Park Industrial Estate, and been thrown off his bike into the path of an oncoming Renault Espace.

Mr Pollard, who was divorced and had two young children, suffered serious spinal injuries and was airlifted to Leeds General Infirmary where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

William Calvert, a colleague of Mr Pollard's at Yeadon-based AETC where the motorcyclist worked as an engineer, told the inquest he witnessed the accident on the afternoon of September 25 last year.

He said he had been overtaken by the motorbike which he then saw brake sharply, locking one of its wheels, as it approached the Metro which was indicating and in a right turn filter lane.

He said Mr Pollard attempted to avoid the Metro but clipped the back of it before being thrown on to the Harrogate-bound carriageway where he was hit by the Renault.

"There was nothing the driver of the Metro or the people carrier could have done to avoid it - their driving was perfectly normal,'' he said.

Mr Calvert said he believed the accident was caused by the speed at which the motorbike was travelling. He had been "shocked and surprised'' at its speed but could not estimate how fast that was.

On his way to work that morning he had been alarmed when he was overtaken by what he believed was the same high-powered green motorbike, travelling at an estimated 70mph.

Another witness, Stuart Colthart, said he had been driving at between 35 and 40mph when the motorbike overtook him, adding: "He was flying, just like I was standing still.''

PC Andrew Leat, of Weet-wood's road traffic department, said that in an interview Espace driver Ronald Clark, of South Shields, told him Mr Pollard just appeared "out of the blue'' in front of him, giving him no chance to avoid a collision.

Mr Hinchliff, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said: "The evidence does suggest that Andrew enjoyed riding his motorcycle at a fast speed and that's what he was doing.''

Following the inquest, solicitor Jonathan Bamforth, representing Mr Pollard's estate, said his family were devastated by the tragedy. "He was a good man and a good father who is very sadly missed," he said.