A LYMINGTON man died after his motorcycle ploughed into a car towing a horsebox and burst into flames on a New Forest road, an inquest heard.

Paul Hill, 38, of Everton was thrown from his Triumph bike into the road.

His motorbike, the horsebox and the Mercedes 4x4 towing it all burst into flames. Witnesses said Mr Hill's legs and feet were also ablaze.

Susan Hogarth, who was driving the Mercedes, told Southampton coroner Keith Wiseman she had approached the bend, on the C17 between Beaulieu and Bucklers Hard, at around 20mph.

"I was coming up to the bend and all of a sudden he came round from the other direction. That's all I remember,'' she said.

Paul Purchase was driving in front of Mr Hill as they approached the bend.

"He was coming up very fast. I didn't think he'd make the bend,'' Mr Purchase said.

"I went round the bend, saw the car with the horse box and just heard a bang.''

PC Andy Price, of Hampshire police said evidence at the scene showed the motorcycle had hit the Mercedes and continued to skid while the Mercedes and horsebox veered off.

PC Price said Mr Hill had been wearing sunglasses which were slightly scratched and this could have affected his visibility.

Catherine Purdy, representing insurers and Mr Hill's family, questioned PC Price as to whether a fault in the motorcycle, which had led the manufacturers to issue a recall, could have caused Mr Hill to lose control of the bike.

But PC Price said he had been satisfied the fault, which occasionally causes fuel leaks due to a clip being replaced wrongly, didn't apply to Mr Hill's motorbike.

However, it was impossible to say for sure as both the motorbike and the Mercedes were burnt out following the fire.

Mr Wiseman recorded a verdict of accidental death and said: "It's more likely than not that a mistake was made by Paul Hill. The difficulty with mistakes made when riding a motorcycle is they are always potentially very dangerous. There's nothing for me to suggest

he wasn't a safe, competent and experienced rider.''

During the inquest Mr Wiseman read from a statement made by Peter Hill, Paul's father. He described Paul as an energetic enthusiastic son with a zest for life.