AN elderly spectator who died after being struck by a motor-cycle at a trials event was stood in an "inadvisable" position, a coroner said yesterday.

Horst Weinhardt, 76, died on June 6 last year after attending the event at Thorp Perrow, near Bedale, North Yorkshire.

Mr Weinhardt, who lived in Boroughbridge, North Yorkshire had gone to watch the event with his son, Paul.

An inquest into his death at County Hall, Northallerton, was told that he had been stood at the end of a straight, near a sharp right-hand bend when the bike lost control, went through the marker tape and hit him.

Mr Weinhardt, who was originally from Germany, was airlifted to the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton, but died from his injuries.

The rider, Paul Broome of Burscough Crescent, Sunderland, had been competing in his first-ever event.

Yesterday, he described the moment that he lost control. "I went round the corner and there was a straight and lots of bumps," he said. "I was going over the bumps and I slipped on the accelerator. I was braking, trying to stop, and that's when I went through the tape."

The event had been organised by the North Riding Enduro Club and licensed by the Auto Cycle Union. Enduros are long distance off-road endurance events where competitors keep to time schedules between check-points.

Timothy Gilbank, course clerk at Thorp Perrow, said the safety of riders and spectators was paramount at such events.

He said a detailed risk assessment was carried out before the races take place and that a team of marshals rode around the course throughout to check for problems.

Mr Gilbank said that if a marshal had seen Mr Weinhardt standing where he was, he would have been asked to move.

Coroner Michael Oakley, who recorded a verdict of accidental death, said: "I am satisfied from the evidence that the event was well run. Mr Weinhardt was clearly standing in a position that might by some be described as silly, or inadvisable by others.

"He did not realise that somebody might come through and that he would be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sadly, that is what has happened."