A CHESTER motorcyclist who died when he crashed into a wall had been pulling a wheelie moments before he lost control of his vehicle, an inquest heard.

Luke Bright, 27, was riding his Yamaha R6 on Ferry Road in Eastham on Friday, August 13 this year when he fatally collided with a brick wall and two stationary vehicles.

An inquest, held at Gerard Majella Courthouse in Liverpool, heard that Mr Bright, who lived with his girlfriend in Chester, had been drinking with friends in The Tap pub on Ferry Road on the evening of the incident.

At around 8.19pm eyewitnesses saw Mr Bright leave the pub's car park riding his motorbike northwards towards Chester along Ferry Road which has a 30mph speed limit.

Sergeant Michael Clarey, of Merseyside Police, who works as a serious collisions investigator, said Mr Bright lost control of the vehicle around half a mile from the pub and collided with a wall and a tree before also hitting two parked cars.

He was thrown from his motorcycle and was later pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services.

Sgt Clarey read a number of eyewitness statements to the inquest including one from the The Tap's landlady, Linda McKay, who said Mr Bright was a regular in her pub.

She said she had seen him "ride off at speed pulling a wheelie" after he left the pub.

Another eyewitness, Susan Blackburn, said she was sitting in her car when she saw a motorcyclist driving at "full throttle and pulling a wheelie."

She added that the rear wheel of the motorbike was "wobbling" and she estimated his speed at around 50mph.

Sgt Clearly also read the statements of Wendy Roberts and Cliff Taylor, a couple who were walking along Ferry Road when they saw the crash.

Ms Roberts said the motorcyclist was pulling a wheelie when he lost control with Mr Taylor adding that he estimated the speed of the vehicle to be between 60mph-70mph.

The couple said they had been worried the motorbike was going to hit them and they were forced to duck as debris was thrown from the crash.

An investigation found there were no defects to the vehicle and Mr Bright was described by assistant coroner for Liverpool and Wirral, Kate Wilson, as an "experienced" rider who had owned the motorbike for eight months.

He was wearing a helmet which was strapped securely.

A postmortem examination by Dr David Agbamu said Mr Bright's injuries to his head, neck and thorax were so serious he would have suffered a "near instantaneous death".

A toxicology report found that Mr Bright, who worked as a machine worker at a cardboard factory in Mold, had recently been drinking alcohol and was around twice over the legal limit for driving.

Ms Wilson recorded a conclusion that Mr Bright had died in a road traffic collision and offered her condolences to his brother and mother who were in attendance.

"It is clear he was very dearly loved," she added.