Brighouse motorbiker Chris Camplin died doing 70mph on 30mph road

Jun 4 2010 by Joanne Douglas, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

A MOTORBIKE enthusiast died after speeding at up to 70mph on a residential road with a 30mph speed limit.

Brighouse mechanic Chris Camplin suffered multiple injuries after his bike collided with a car on Halifax Road in the town last June.

His mother Renee Camplin paid tribute to her son, describing him as a “warm and loving” man, adding that he was a “lovely boy who wouldn’t hurt anybody”.

Hours before the tragic accident, Mr Camplin had met up with friends and girlfriend, Claire Kaye, at The Barge pub in Brighouse. Claire, his girlfriend of two years, said he had one pint of Strongbow cider.

At an inquest into the death of the 28-year-old, coroner Roger Whittaker said that Mr Camplin’s inhibitions may have been impaired by the alcohol in his system; toxicology tests showed it was the equivalent of three pints of beer.

John Green, a crash investigator for West Yorkshire Police, said evidence from tyre marks indicated Mr Camplin may have been travelling at between 62mph and 69mph.

But he said that was the bare minimum the motorbike enthusiast, of Crest Place, Hove Edge, would have been travelling at.

The inquest at Halifax Town Hall heard that on June 26 last year, Mr Camplin was riding his Kawasaki ZX 10 motorbike along Halifax Road.

At around 7.45pm, Mr Camplin briefly stopped outside his friend Joanne Kaye’s house to talk to her.

He rode off but moments later was involved in the fatal crash near the brow of the hill at the junction with Garden Road.