MOTORCYCLIST Robert Gray is fighting for his life after he lost control of his powerful new sports bike while taking his 14-year-old son for a ride at 10.30am on Saturday.

Police say Mr Gray, 41, was between Hilmarton and Calne on the A3102, when his powerful Honda Fireblade skidded into the verge, 100 yards from Beversbrook Farm, ripping off the front wheel.

Mr Gray, an engineer from Calne, suffered severe head and chest injuries and was airlifted to Swindon's Great Western Hospital where yesterday he was described as being in a critical condition.

His son, from Weston-super-Mare, in Somerset, escaped with cuts and bruises, but is said to be very shaken.

PC Richard Hatch, from Corsham Traffic Police, said: "We don't know why he lost control.

"At this stage we have not had an opportunity to speak to Mr Gray so we don't know what kind of experience he had riding motorcycles."

Mr Gray is the third motorcyclist from north Wiltshire to suffer severe injuries in a road accident in the last four weeks.

On May 30, father-of-two Tony Read from Lacock, was killed when his Ducati motorbike collided with a silver Mondeo, at Blacklands, just outside Calne.

Mr Read, who ran his own advertising company, died two weeks before his youngest daughter Abby celebrated her first birthday.

A week later David Haines, 22, from Lyneham suffered leg injuries after he collided with a car on the Chippenham to Bristol Road at Allington.

Mr Haines was airlifted to Bath's Royal United Hospital with serious injuries.

Sergeant Chris Moore said: "It just seems that a lot of these riders are not aware of their own limitations or just how powerful their machines are.

"It seems like every summer we have these type of accidents when riders who haven't ridden their bikes during the winter decide to go out for a ride."

The road between Lyneham and Calne was the scene of two fatal motorcycle accidents last year. RAF father-of-two Colin Burnett died on May 26 at Lyneham Banks and Andrew Nuttall, 29, was killed just two weeks later.