A MARSDEN man was killed in a motorbike crash in Portugal.

Philip Ellis, 52, was on holiday at Vila Facaia when the bike he was riding collided with a Mercedes car.

The retired butcher, of Manchester Road, died instantly in the crash on April 30 2006.

The inquest into his death was adjourned until yesterday for Portuguese investigators to conduct a full report.

But Huddersfield coroner Roger Whittaker said he was still not satisfied about the circumstances of the collision and recorded an open verdict.

Witnesses who saw the Mercedes travelling before the impact estimated its speed at about 62 to 75mph.

But the only person who witnessed the crash itself was the Mercedes driver.

Mr Whittaker said: “I am not satisfied as to whether this is a straightforward accident or not. There was only one eyewitness and that is the driver of the Mercedes.”

The inquest, attended by Mr Ellis’s partner Susan Ellis, heard he was a keen motorcyclist.

He had a property in Vila Facaia, north of the Portuguese capital Lisbon, which he used to regularly visit with Ms Ellis, whom he was due to marry in 2007 after ten years together.

In a statement read in court, Mr Ellis’s son Benjamin said: “Dad was an experienced motorcycle rider for years and he had his own motorcycle at his house in Portugal where a friend of his organised motorcycle tours.”

It was on one of those trips that Mr Ellis sustained the multiple injuries which caused his death.

He was riding along the national highway 236 when his bike collided with a Mercedes on a left-hand bend.

The car driver, Manuel Jose Anturies, was on his way to meet friends for lunch when the collision happened.

In a report translated into English, Mr Anturies said: “Everything happened within a fraction of a few seconds. I felt an impact against the vehicle and saw a shadow in the air.

“I immediately stopped the car and saw the motorcycle burning and ran over to the victim.”

Police officer Jose Mendes said that the driver was tested for traces of alcohol and drugs but was free of either.

Witness Jim McGrath, from Dublin, did not see the collision happen, but saw the Mercedes beforehand and arrived at the crash scene seconds after the impact.

The 60-year-old estimated the speed of the Mercedes prior to the crash to be between 100 and 120km per hour – approximately 62 to 75mph.

The coroner recorded an open verdict.