A VAN driver caused the death of a Kidderminster motorcyclist said to be speeding at up to 100mph along a dual carriageway in Stourport, a court was told.

Peter Colquitt, 53, had seen the bike, ridden by Stuart Simpson, coming along the A451 Minster Road, but pulled out from a side lane when he misjudged the speed and distance of the motorcycle, said Antonie Muller, prosecuting.

Mr Simpson, aged 52, of Corndon Close, Kidderminster, tried to avoid a collision by moving to the left but his bike crashed with Colquitt’s white Fiat Ducato van on the front nearside. Witnesses said it catapulted into the air and burst into flames on landing.

The rider was killed and Colquitt, of Ronhill Crescent, Cleobury Mortimer, suffered injuries, including a broken pelvis and damage to the base of his spine.

Colquitt denied causing death by careless driving on August 3 2013 – described by Mr Muller in Worcester Crown Court as a “fine, clear, lovely summer’s day”.

“This was a tragic incident for everybody concerned," Mr Muller said.

"For the people who witnessed the collision, who tried to help, it was that. For the relatives of the deceased it was that and for the defendant himself it was that. All have been badly affected by the events of that day.”

Colquitt was taking garden waste to the recycling centre in Minster Road and was turning right from the Kidderminster-bound carriageway, through a small connecting lane.

Colquitt told police he saw the motorbike, which had its lights on, in the fast lane of the 70mph road, travelling towards Stourport, as well as a car in a third, slow lane used by traffic turning into the recycling centre.

“He was to say that both vehicles were level with each other and level with the crematorium entrance – the crematorium is some 550 metres away,” said Mr Muller.

“A careful driver knows that people break the speed limit. At 90mph that bike was moving at over 40 metres a second."

Police crash investigation expert Graham Powell told the jury the Suzuki GSX 1300cc bike was in the fifth of six gears at the time of the impact and would have been travelling between 90 and 110mph, in the region of 100 mph.

He had concluded Colquitt did not appreciate its speed. The rider had no chance to avoid the van and a collision had been inevitable, he said.

The hearing continues.