A father died in a road accident as his family were waiting for him to join them in their dream move to France, an inquest heard.

Firefighter Michael Moore, 29, was killed when his motorbike crashed into the side of a skip truck that pulled out of a private drive at a blind junction in Halifax Road, Denholme Gate, in November.

At an inquest into Mr Moore's death yesterday Bradford Coroner Roger Whittaker called for the speed limit there to be reduced to 30mph to prevent similar fatalities. The court was told vision to the right is severely restricted when pulling out of the drive.

Mr Whittaker said: "The problem is the speed limit which is too high. This might be the first fatality in this situation and I hope that action can be taken to ensure that it's the last. In my view it's reducing the speed limit at this point to 30mph, and there should be sufficient markings to ensure people obey it."

The court was told Mr Moore's wife, Angelique, and their two children had already left for France at the time of the accident and he would go to see them on his days off.

Mr Moore, of St Ives Grove, Harden, who was described as a "careful, caring and funny" person, was driving towards Keighley when he lost control of his powerful bike as he saw the skip truck pulling into the road.

Collision investigator PC Christopher Bentham told the inquest Mr Moore had braked, but the wheels then locked forcing the bike to slide across the road and he hit the truck's fuel tank killing him almost instantly.

PC Bentham said truck driver John Kemp would not have been able to see the bike as he pulled out. Fighting back the tears Mr Moore's father Graham told Mr Kemp he bore him no ill.

The hearing was told that since the accident, but not because of it, the speed limit had been reduced from 50mph to 40mph, but PC Bentham said that it should be reduced further.

"Thirty miles per hour would be better," he told the inquest.

Michael Crossland, who lives close to the accident scene, told the court he had written to his local councillor to try to get the speed limit reduced and had spoken to the Highways Agency 18 months before the crash.

The hearing was told Mr Moore was an experienced rider and was involved in the 400cc racing circuit. In a statement his family said he took every safety precaution.

Recording his verdict Mr Whittaker said his death was a tragic accident and said Mr Kemp could have done nothing more to avoid the collision.