THE keyboard player with the band Echo and the Bunnymen, who lived in Bristol, has been killed in a motorbike crash on the Isle of Man.

Jake Brockman, who was 53 and married, was fatally injured when his motorbike collided with a converted ambulance near Kirk Michael on Tuesday.

Mr Brockman joined the cult band in 1989 after touring with them during the 80s.

Born in Borneo and trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, he formed the dance band BOM with Bristol-based musician Damon Reece and also worked as a sound recordist for the BBC's natural history unit.

The band's new album Fountains, due out next month, will feature his music. His fellow Bunnymen said on their website: "Our thoughts are with his wife, family and friends. Love Ian, Will, Les, Peasy, Pete, Peter and all his fans."

His wife Sally Mundy said: "Jake was always a classic bike enthusiast. He loved sailing though he was invariably seasick. Music was central to Jake's life."

The band's original drummer Pete De Freitas died in a similar accident in 1989.