Bristol tattoo artist Dave Ayres over drink-drive limit in fatal crash

A renowned tattoo artist from Bristol was more than twice the legal drink-drive limit when his motorbike smashed into a car, causing him fatal injuries.

An inquest heard Dave Ayres could have been travelling at anything up to 60mph on Lodge Causeway in Fishponds, which has a 30mph limit, and jumped a red light before a car pulled out into the path of his Harley Davidson.

He was thrown from the machine and died of severe head and neck injuries.

Yesterday family and friends of Mr Ayres, who ran Skin Deep Tattoos in Old Market and had won more than 100 awards for his work, went to Flax Bourton Coroner's Court for the inquest into his death.

The court heard the father-of-four, who was 43, had been riding on Lodge Causeway, near Thicket Avenue, when he collided with the rear of a Mercedes A-Class car as it pulled out of a parking space on the evening of January 25.

Two witnesses said they saw a motorbike travelling very quickly before the crash. One of them, Christopher Miller, said in a police statement: "I saw a male on a big black bike. He was riding so fast, he must have been going around 50 to 60 mph.

"He went straight through a red traffic light. There were children waiting to cross as he bombed on through."

Speaking from the witness box, Mercedes driver David Roger said he had parked while his wife went to a nearby Tesco.

A Renault Clio car was parked behind him and, because of a curve in the road, Mr Roger said the Clio may have obscured his view.

On his wife's return Mr Roger said he looked behind him and saw the Clio, then looked in his right-wing mirror before pulling away.

He said: "I pulled right out and was going no more than 10 to 15 mph. The next thing I knew the motorbike must have overtaken the car behind me. I was aware of the bike only in the last second. I saw a flash before my airbag went off."

Speaking in court, Mr Ayres' father Henry said to Mr Roger: "If you'd done this on a test you'd have failed. You can't just rely on one wing mirror."

Investigating officer PC Philip Howells, said the weather and road conditions were good and he suggested Mr Ayres was travelling at between 34 and 60mph. He said there were no bike skid marks to suggest Mr Ayres swerved, which he put down to slower reaction times, due to alcohol.

A post-mortem examination found Mr Ayers, of Ingleside Road, Kingswood, had 169mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood. The legal driving limit is 80.

Recording a verdict of accidental death, deputy coroner Brian Whitehouse said there were three elements to the crash: Mr Roger's restricted rear view; Mr Ayres' speed and the alcohol Mr Ayres had consumed. Mr Whitehouse added: "I have to say, in my view, it may well have been the latter element that was most significant."