A much-loved biker was killed in a tragic crash after reportedly "racing" an Audi on a dual carriageway.

Ian Cowell was twice the legal alcohol limit when he came off his Yamaha motorcycle along the A20 in Dover, sustaining fatal injuries.

An inquest this week heard how the 38-year-old had been at the Malvern Inn pub in Clarendon Road with a friend in the hours leading up to the incident.

After returning to his pal's house to pick up his Yamaha MT-09 bike, CCTV captured Mr Cowell travelling along the A20.

Assistant coroner Ian Brownhill read out a statement from another driver, Vicki Gilmore, who said she witnessed the rider pull up alongside a white Audi A7 at a set of traffic lights.

Ms Gilmore told the court in a statement she had seen both the car and the bike take off at "full throttle" and race up the road out of sight.

"It was 'foot down and gone' - I could hear acceleration from both of them," her statement added.

During his journey around a gentle left-hand bend near the Port of Dover, Mr Cowell's bike hit the central reservation and unseated him and he collided with a lampost.

A number of vehicles stopped and attempted to help the rider following the crash on October 3 last year.

Paramedics attended but Mr Cowell, from Deal, had sustained multiple injuries and was tragically declared dead at the scene.

In a statement, DC Kaleigh Archer told the inquest a number of witnesses reported seeing the Audi loop around the roundabout and return on the opposite carriageway following the crash.

The driver was then seen getting out of his vehicle, looking at the scene, and then getting back in his car and leaving.

Following a media appeal, a 37-year-old man from the Dover area was arrested on suspicion of dangerous driving.

The inquest heard the man - who KentOnline has decided not to name - said during a police interview that he had heard "a loud noise coming from behind, and noticed the motorbike crashed behind me".

"I turned around and got out and went to see if I could help the rider - but a number of people were there and told me to keep my distance, so I returned to my car and left," he said.

DC Archer told the court that the man subsequently answered "no comment" to any further questions.

She added that there was only one witness statement to suggest the pair had been racing, and that they were previously unknown to each other. However it was clear that both drivers had been "spirited in their driving".

After investigations showed no damage to the bike that would suggest a car had hit it, the driver was released with no charges.

The coroner told the inquest at County Hall in Maidstone that a subsequent toxicology screening showed Mr Cowell was almost twice the legal limit of alcohol at the time of the crash.

He added: "It is impossible to say for sure what caused him to misjudge the bend.

"I note that there was alcohol in his system and that he was reported to have been racing, but I cannot say for sure. It may have been a simple mistake.

"No other road user hit him, and there is no evidence that he intended it or that he had a medical episode that caused him to lose control.

"Rest in peace Ian mate, you will be missed, keep on riding up there boy..."

"I would like to pass on my condolences to his family and friends for their tragic loss."

Following the tragedy, tributes poured in for Mr Cowell.

One friend said: "Rest in peace Ian mate, you will be missed, keep on riding up there boy."

His dad Martin posted on Facebook: "You have no idea the hole that is left when you lose someone you love. RIP Ian."

Others described Mr Cowell as "such a lovely person", a "great young man", a "good friend" and a "caring lad".