FLOWERS have been left in tribute to a ‘special’ young father who died in a crash between a car and a motorbike.

The 23-year-old, named locally as Joe Howe of Parkstone, was riding on a motorbike when it collided with a car on Lindsay Road near Burton Road in Branksome just after 5.35pm on Sunday. His next of kin has been informed and the coroner has been notified.

A 21-year-old Bournemouth man, named locally as Tom Wilson, who was also on the green Kawasaki motorbike at the time of the incident, remains in a life-threatening condition after being airlifted to Southampton General Hospital.

The 31-year-old driver of a blue Renault Clio, which was also involved in the crash, was uninjured.

Flowers left on the pavement near to the scene paid tribute to the 23-year-old nicknamed, Plum.

One read: ‘To Plum. We love you.’ While another read: ‘Rest in peace, Plum. We are going to miss you. You were the best mate we could ever have. All our love, The Parkstone Boys.’

A group of people who were laying flowers at the scene yesterday morning said that they were part of The Parkstone Boys. One of them said: “We love you, our loyal mate. He was just a really nice lad. He was special. He was the quiet one of the group. We hope that the other lad pulls through. They were best friends.

“The highlight of his day was seeing his son, who is three. He was a bit wild but he was special. He didn’t do any wrong by anybody.

“He was a qualified plasterer. He had just spent three years in college and was about to start working with a friend.”

Nearby resident, Jennie Holly, 68, said: “We took the dog out for a walk and got to the end of the driveway when we saw that the road had been closed off. I don’t know the people involved, but how awful for their families. The man who died was so young. It’s tragic.”

Another resident, who asked not to be named, said: “I feel shocked. I can’t get over it. Especially as I didn’t know about it until yesterday morning and it was right on our doorstep. I feel for all involved.”

Officers from Dorset Police closed the road for several hours. Witnesses and anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting incident number 23:320.