THE DANGEROUS condition of a motorbike ridden by 21-year-old Matthew Mason could have contributed to the head-on smash that killed him.

Trowbridge biker Mr Mason was travelling on the wrong side of West Ashton Road on December 5, 2002, when his Honda 250cc slammed head-on into an oncoming car.

The impact catapulted the 21-year-old onto the front windscreen and through the sunroof of Michelle Meaden's Rover 214, before his body was flung onto a hedge.

PC Richard Monk, a police motorcyclist, told Wiltshire Coroner David Masters the bike was in a "dangerous condition" with a worn-out front drive and a nail embedded in the back tyre.

The nail caused air pressure in the rear tyre to fall by 33 per cent which would have hampered Mr Mason's bid to get back on the right side of the road as he overtook friend Daniel Shepherd's Yamaha 600cc, on a blind left-hand bend.

PC Monk, of central traffic unit, said the bike was in such a bad condition it should have been taken off the road. A police investigation report revealed the faults could have pushed Mr Mason's bike further onto the opposite carriageway than intended but the cause of the crash was down to an "inappropriate overtaking manoeuvre".

Mrs Meaden, of The Croft, Trowbridge, was driving towards the county town with her three-year-old son. She described in a statement how the accident happened.

"To my horror the bike was over the white lines on my side of the road," she said. "I moved over to the hedge and I was prepared to drive into it.

"My son said 'what's the matter mummy?' and I said it would be ok. The front of his bike hit my car.

"I heard another bang which was the rider hitting my car, I think he hit the top of the windscreen and the sunroof. I thought I was going to die.

"I was covered in glass and I couldn't see the bike or the rider."

Mr Shepherd, of Yarnbrook, insisted he was riding below the national speed limit but was told by an officer his friend could have been going up to 87mph when he struck the car. He said: "It was literally just a couple of seconds from the time he was in front of me to the time he hit the car.

"I would have said he was going fast, he must have been to overtake me."

Pillion passenger Neil Collett, of Tower Close, who was on the back of Mr Shepherd's bike, said he believed they were going between 70 and 80mph.

Mr Collett said Mr Mason liked to "throw" the bike around bends to make up speed lost on the straights.

Post-mortem reports revealed Mr Mason would have died instantly at the crash scene from a ruptured major artery and massive head injuries.

Coroner Mr Masters, sitting at Chippenham Magistrates' Court on Thursday, said: "It may be he was forced to take the corner at a wider angle because of the tyre pressure.

"Matthew was travelling around the bend on the wrong side of the road on a bend he couldn't see a course of action therefore which unforseeably to him and unexpectedly to him led to his death."

Verdict: Misadventure.