A MAN who crashed his motorcycle hours after being warned by police it could be seized died accidentally, an inquest ruled.

Jamie Alex John Harper, 22, of Pontypool, was riding the wrong way along Penygarn Road, a one-way road, on January 2 at around 12.53pm when he was faced with a Volkswagen Golf which was being driven the right way along the road.

But due to him not having rear brake pads on his Yamaha motorcycle, which he was not qualified to drive, the inquest heard Mr Harper’s front wheel was likely to have locked on the wet road surface when he tried to brake, causing the motorcycle to drop to the side.

The inquest at Gwent Coroners Court, sitting in Newport, heard a post mortem examination showed Mr Harper had died from fracture of the base of his skull, blunt vehicle trauma and multiple internal injuries.

A toxicology test found amphetamine in his blood which Gwent’s deputy coroner Wendy James said was likely to have impacted his driving.

The inquest heard police called at Mr Harper’s house at 9.37am on January 2 after the motorcycle was involved in an incident several hours earlier and said they could seize it.

But Mr Harper said he would not tell the police where his motorcycle was before leaving the house.

In a written statement, the driver of the Volkswagen Golf, Lee Parfitt, said he was driving along Penygarn Road when he was confronted by the motorcycle and swerved to the right side to try and avoid him.

He said he saw the motorcycle fall down on its right hand side and he felt a slight impact on the car as he swerved.

Mr Harper was lying in the middle of the road with the motorcycle further down the road. His crash helmet came off with the force of the impact.

The inquest heard neither driver was speeding in the 30mph area and Mr Harper could have entered the road the wrong way or could have turned around in the road.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, Ms James said Mr Harper had “obstructed police in the line of their duty” by failing to tell him where the bike was when they wanted to seize it.

She said: “That decision, unfortunately, resulted in his own fate.”