A MOTORCYCLIST died after a rush-hour horror smash on Huddersfield ring road.

The rider, a 47-year-old Huddersfield man, struck a wall at Castlegate.

The man, who has not been named, suffered severe head injuries in the smash at just before 8am yesterday .

It is believed no other vehicle was involved.

The man, riding a Yamaha machine, was thought to have come along Castlegate, past Kirklees College on his left, before heading downhill towards the slip-road leading from New North Road when he lost control.

Passing motorists stopped the traffic and paramedics attended to the man at the scene.

He was rushed to Huddersfield Royal Infirmary where he later died.

That side of Huddersfield Ring Road was closed and traffic queues built up during rush-hour causing extensive delays.

The road was closed all morning while officers from West Yorkshire Police’s Major Collision Enquiry Team (MCET) launched an investigation.

The carriageway was closed for about five hours and re-opened around lunchtime.

Police have appealed for anyone who witnessed the accident to contact them via the non-emergency number 101.