A FATHER who was killed in a motorbike crash was over the legal drink-drive limit and speeding, an inquest was told.

Nigel Cannon, 44, died after the accident on his Harley Davidson bike in Maidstone Road, Rainham, in May this year.

Mr Cannon’s brother, Lea, was also on the bike at the time of the accident but suffered only minor injuries.

An inquest at Gillingham eard Mr Cannon set off on his bike from his mother’s house in Elmstone Road, Rainham, with his brother riding pillion.

Mr Cannon, of Marshall Road, Rainham, had suggested a ride around local roads to take advantage of a nice summer evening.

But as he took a bend in Maidstone Road, he lost control of the bike, the vehicle skidded 50 metres, struck two walls and then crashed into an oncoming car.

PC David Kirk, who helped conduct the Medway Police investigation into the accident, said tyre marks, damage to the road and damage to the oncoming car showed Mr Cannon must have been travelling at a minimum speed of 62 mph. The speed limit for the road is 30 mph.

The inquest also heard how Mr Cannon had been drinking at a pub before the incident. A post-mortem examination showed that he had an alcohol level of 126mg per 100ml of blood. The legal limit is 80mg.

Mr Cannon’s wife Carol told the inquest that her husband was suffering from stress at the time of the accident.

She said: “I was concerned with his health. He was experiencing stress with work and family, but I could not get him to seek help.”

Coroner Roger Sykes, recording a verdict of accidental death, said: “The fact Mr Cannon had been drinking, coupled with the factors of stress and tiredness, was such that at the speed he was travelling he was not able to keep full control of his machine.”