A PASSIONATE biker who died in a road crash had been travelling at speeds of up to 94mph before his motorcycle hit a car, an inquest heard.

Popular Martin Bush was riding along Cranes Farm Road in Basildon when the horrific accident occurred on August 25 last year.

An inquest into his death heard Mr Bush, 34, of Tavistock Road, Laindon, could have survived crashing into a car being driven by James Lamb, 62, from Stevenage in Hertfordshire, if he had kept to the speed limit.

On the day of the crash, stock-controller Mr Lamb had been employed to drive a silver Ford Focus around the town to advertise the opening of a new Screw Fix outlet in Luckyn Lane.

He told the inquest in Chelmsford he had been driving around for about 30 minutes when his path tragically crossed with Mr Bush.

As Mr Lamb attempted to switch lanes, Mr Bush - who was travelling some way behind the car - applied his brakes as hard as his could.

This caused the rear wheel of his bike to lock, causing him to skid into the side of the Focus.

The bike was then propelled through the air into the base of a nearby speed camera, before hitting a tree.

Mr Lamb - who has not faced any criminal charges as a result of the incident - told the inquest how he caught a glimpse in his mirror of Mr Bush travelling behind him on the road, but stressed that he was "way, way back".

A few seconds later he heard the sound of "urgent breaking" as Mr Bush battled to control his bike.

Mr Bush, who was described as "a genuinely nice guy" by his friends and family, suffered multiple injuries and was taken to Basildon Hospital where he died.

Essex police accident investigator PC Ian Donaldson told the inquest Mr Bush had been speeding along the 50mph road on his black Suzuki bike.

He said: "Calculations indicate he was going at 67mph at the time of impact, but realistically he was most likely driving much faster at speeds of 79 to 94mph.

"If he had kept within the 50mph limit calculations indicate he could have been able to stop short of the impact."

Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a verdict that he died as a result of a road traffic collision.