A Ledbury scooter rider was more than three times over the drink drive limit when he crashed to his death.

Robert James, 32, died when he lost control of his Honda 125 scooter while riding through Bromsberrow Heath on April 8.

Mr James, of Hasnett Road, could not be saved despite the efforts of paramedics and an emergency consultant who was flown to the scene by helicopter.

At an inquest today (Thursday, September 29) assistant Gloucestershire coroner Roland Wooderson recorded a conclusion of road traffic collision.

The coroner said a post mortem showed that Mr James' cause of death was head and neck injuries suffered in the crash.

He said toxicological tests showed he had 247mgs of alcohol in 100 mls of blood - over three times the legal limit of 80mgs. In a normal social drinker that level of alchol would cause “extreme drunkenness”, said a pathologist’s report.

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Such a level would cause impaired judgment and reduced inhibitions, the report added.

Examination of the scooter revealed that the rear tyre was under-inflated - it was 24psi but should have been 33psi.

Gloucestershire Police collision investigator PC Ed Jarvis said the crash happened at 11.18pm on Beach Lane, which runs parallel with the M50.

CCTV footage showed tragic scooter rider passing by

He said he had viewed CCTV footage from a nearby property which showed the headlight of the scooter passing by. A “noticeable change” could be heard in the sound of the scooter engine as it throttled back and a loud bang was then heard, the officer stated.

No other vehicles were seen or heard at the scene.

Mr James was found lying in the road by a local person who called the emergency services, who were able to identify him thanks to him having a wallet, phone and provisional driving licence in his pockets.

He was declared dead at the scene after resuscitation attempts proved to be in vain.

PC Jarvis stated that in his view the fatal crash happened because Mr James realised he was too far over to the offside of the road, attempted to brake but left the carriageway.

“In my opinion the cause of the collision was his vehicle leaving the road on the offside, probably and most plausibly as a result of his incapacity from alcohol intoxication,” he added.

The coroner concluded: “Very sadly he died as a result of injuries sustained in a road traffic collision.”