The tractor driver involved in a fatal collision that claimed the life of a north Dorset father-of three has given evidence at the inquest into his death.

Motorcyclist Kieron Marc Pittick, described as a ‘gentle giant’ of a man, died following the horror crash on a rural road in the autumn of 2016.

At Dorset Coroner’s Court, tractor driver Stephen Perry explained he’d been one five drivers hauling maize on the day in question.

He’d been at the wheel of a tractor and trailer, and was attempting to turn into a field a mile-and-a-half from the family farm at Stalbridge, near Blandford, when the accident took place.

“I was coming to the gateway and looked to see if the road was clear,” he told the court. “I went to make my manoeuvre and as I was turning into the gateway I saw a flash of red and smoke.”

The court heard how Mr Pittick, aged 36, of Schelin Way, Shillingstone, died at the scene of multiple injures.

He’d been riding his Suzuki Bandit motorbike back from his workplace, a steelworks in Stalbridge, when the accident took place, mid-afternoon in October 2016.

Crash investigation reports concluded the tractor and trailer, which was empty and on its way to be loaded with maize, had been travelling northbound on the A357 when it slowed to a crawl and started to make a left turn into the field. Motorists behind the tractor confirmed its indicators were flashing.

However, in order to complete the sharp turn though the gate - which was close to a bend in the road - Mr Perry swung his rig out to the right, encroaching on the opposite side of the road. It was at this point the collision occurred.

Witnesses rushed to Mr Pittick’s aid, but despite administering CPR, he was later pronounced dead at the scene.

A pathologist, who recorded the cause of death as multiple injuries, also concluded Mr Pittick’s injuries were unsurvivable and that he would have lost consciousness instantaneously.

Earlier the court heard a statement from Mr Pittick’s wife, Emma, who wrote: “It breaks my heart to be writing this about my soulmate. My husband was the love of my life, and life will never be the same without him.”

Meanwhile, Mr Pittick’s brother, James, told the court his younger sibling was a “very accomplished, very safety conscious, and very considerate” motorcyclist, who had held a licence from a young age.

The deceased was also a HGV driver.

Assistant Dorset Coroner Richard Middleton concluded: “He (Mr Pittick) could have done very little to avoid the inevitable contact with the tractor. The collision with the tractor led to his almost instantaneous death.”

He recorded a verdict of “death as the result of a road traffic collision.”