A TRAINEE pilot from an RAF base in North Yorkshire has been named as the victim of a motorbike crash.

Luke Jonathan Lockyer, 24, a student pilot at RAF Linton-on-Ouse, was killed when his bike was in collision with a car near to the base on Wednesday evening.

Mr Lockyer's bike was in collision with a white Fiat Uno on the Branton Green to Boroughbridge road, near Great Ouseburn, at about 6.30pm on Wednesday.

Police have also named a motorcyclist killed in a crash near Harrogate just 30 minutes later on the same day.

John Swiffen, 50, a married painter and decorator from Doncaster, was killed after he failed to negotiate a left-hand bend and hit a fence post on the A661 Harrogate to Wetherby road at Plumpton Rocks, near Harrogate, on Wednesday.

In a separate incident a police motorcyclist was injured when he was involved in a collision with a car while on patrol on the A64 near York.

The officer, who has not been named, was taken to York District Hospital with a broken wrist and cracked ribs after the incident on the westbound carriageway at the service area at Bilbrough Top, on Thursday night.

Police said his machine was involved in a collision with a red Ford Mondeo, which had just left the service area, at about 9.20pm