A MOTORCYCLIST died after falling from his bike while twice over the drink-drive limit.
Mr Frank Whiteside, aged 47, a security officer,had been driving home from work at a haulage company in Whitefield on July 13 last year, a Bury inquest heard.
He was travelling along Hollins Brow on his Kawasaki motorcycle, at 7.40am, when the accident happened.
The father-of-three, of Dixon Green Drive, Farnworth, struck the kerb on the bend of the road while travelling in the direction of Manchester Road, and collided with a lamp post.
His wife, Mrs Anne Whiteside, told the inquest that her husband often took a small container with alcohol to work with him.
No other vehicle was involved in the incident, but driver Mr Anthony Rostroni, travelling in the opposite direction to Mr Whiteside, said he saw the motorcycle in the distance before the accident.
In a statement read out at the inquest, he said that he had seen the front wheel of the bike wobble, but he wasn't sure what it had hit during the accident.
Bury traffic police confirmed, following the accident, that there was no evidence the vehicle was being driven at speed when it struck the kerb.
A post mortem revealed that Mr Whiteside had died from multiple chest and abdominal injuries.
Bury coroner Simon Nelson recorded a verdict of accidental death.
He said: "It's my view that Mr Whiteside was a vastly experienced motorcyclist with a great passion, but I have to conclude that the presence of alcohol at the time would have been a contributing factor."Bike crash victim twice legal limit
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