MOTORCYCLIST Joe Howe was travelling so fast before he died in a crash that he “could have killed anyone”, an inquest heard.

Witnesses said his Kawasaki was “flying down the road” on October 23, 2016.

Father-of-one Mr Howe, 23, was riding his green Kawasaki westbound in Lindsay Road, Poole, with pillion passenger and close friend Tom Wilson, when it collided head-on with a Renault Clio driven by Ryan Trickey.

A Bournemouth inquest heard Mr Trickey, from Poole, was turning right across the westbound lane into a block of flats.

He told the inquest he recalled seeing a car coming towards him, and perhaps a motorbike, but believed he had plenty of time to turn.

Mr Howe, of Bournemouth Road, Poole, died of chest injuries in hospital and his passenger was thrown down the road “like a teddy”, Dorset coroner Rachael Griffin was told.

The court heard Mr Wilson, 21, suffered severe injuries which have greatly damaged his memory. He is still in a residential hospital undergoing rehabilitation.

Witness Craig St Clair was behind the motorbike when the collision took place. In a statement to the court he said: “I couldn’t believe the speed the motorcycle overtook me. The way the males were riding on that bike they could have killed anyone.”

His front seat passenger Gemma Brown added: “That bike was going so fast it took everyone’s breath away in the car.”

Daniel Thomas, who was travelling behind the Clio, spoke of his “astonishment” at the level of debris caused by the crash and the distance travelled by the pillion passenger as he was thrown down the road.

The court heard evidence from Dorset Police crash investigator PC Kelvin Edge that the speed of the motorcycle at the moment of the collision would have been between 50-60mph, nearly double the limit.

Mr Trickey was asked whether he was using his mobile phone at the time of the crash and he said: “I do not wish to answer that.”

He agreed that he may have been listening to football results on the radio.

PC Edge said there was not sufficient evidence to suggest Mr Trickey was at fault for not noticing the motorcycle’s speed, or whether he had been distracted by his mobile phone.

Ms Griffin recorded that Mr Howe died as a result of a road traffic collision.

She said: “I hope a warning will go out to others of the dangers on the roads, particularly driving at excessive speed. If any good can come of Joe’s death it can be to warn others of the consequences when attention is not given to legal requirements in place for good reason.”

His family have paid tribute to a "real character” who was widely known and made friends easily.

His sister Rachel said: “He will be missed by his little boy Noah, four, by Noah’s mum Stacey, by my dad Bill and by all his friends, he was an amazing person. He had a lot of friends and his Facebook page is still buzzing.

“He loved his bike and the Parkstone Boys. On his headstone it says ‘he truly was a one off’. You couldn’t put it any better than that.”