A MOTORCYCLIST who hit the front of a coach causing both vehicles to burst into flames could have been travelling at between 75 and 80mph.

Adrian Pavey was killed instantly in the collision which happened on the A39 on the outskirts of Minehead on August 21 last year.

An inquest into his death in Minehead on Tuesday heard that the coach, owned by East Anstey-based Blakes Coaches, had 35 West Somerset pensioners on board returning from a day trip to Devon.

West Somerset coroner Michael Rose commended the actions of coach driver Kenneth Short, from Taunton, who helped get all the passengers off the vehicle while the front of it was ablaze.

Shortly after the last passenger stepped off, front and rear airbags connected to the coach's suspension exploded, engulfing the entire vehicle in flames.

Mr Rose said Mr Short and other unnamed passengers who had also helped had "kept their heads" during the incident.

"Nobody panicked - older members of the population tend not to," he said.

"But it is very lucky that I am not holding an inquest today into the deaths of at least ten or 12 people, which could so easily have been the case."

The inquest heard that 46-year-old Mr Pavey, who had two sons and lived with his girlfriend in Cheddar, had been for a ride on his Yamaha 600cc bike with fellow motorcyclist Philip Young on the day of the accident.

Mr Young, riding a Suzuki, had been the 'lead' bike throughout the journey, which had taken the pair to Devon.

They were returning home and travelling towards Williton when the collision happened.

Motorists travelling in the same direction spoke of being overtaken by one or both bikes at high speed.

Alan Rumney, returning home to Stratford-on-Avon with his partner, estimated Mr Pavey could have been travelling at 80mph.

"He came past me very noisily at full throttle," Mr Rumney said in evidence. "I noticed that the rear wheel of the bike was a little unstable and was moving from side to side.

"The speed concerned me. It was extremely loud and it made my partner jump."

Mr Rumney said just a short while afterwards his partner noticed a plume of smoke ahead.

"We stopped the car and I told her to direct traffic and ring the police," he said. "There were flames coming from the coach to such an extent that we couldn't get near it.

"The bike was on the ground, to the side of the coach. I assumed it was the bike that had come past me."

Kelly Ellis, who was returning home from a weekend stay at Minehead's Butlins with her young son, witnessed the horrific accident.

In a statement read to the inquest, Ms Ellis said she had been travelling at about 30mph along the A39 when a motorbike had overtaken her at around 60mph.

Fifteen seconds later, she was passed by another bike, whose rider seemed to be struggling with the handlebars of the vehicle.

"All of a sudden he struck a coach, then there was an almighty explosion," she said. "Debris hit the front of my car and I realised my bonnet was on fire."

Ms Ellis said she drove on a short distance and then stopped, by which time the fire on her bonnet had gone out.

"I still have flashbacks about the incident," she said. "I think both motorcyclists were riding recklessly."

In evidence, surviving motorcyclist Mr Young, also from Cheddar, said he and Mr Pavey had been travelling at about the speed limit throughout the day.

He said he had known nothing about the accident until a motorist flagged him down a short distance ahead.

Coach driver Mr Short told the inquest that he had only just pulled away after dropping some passengers in Carhampton when he saw two motorbikes travelling towards him as he approached a bend in the road towards Minehead.

"The first passed me but the second seemed to be coming straight towards me so I steered into a gateway."

Mr Short said although the first bike "made" the bend, the second seemed to be struggling.

"He was doing about 70 to 80mph. The driver was sitting upright but then he came off his bike and hit my windscreen."

Mr Short said both the bike and front of the coach immediately caught fire: "I tried to open the doors automatically but they wouldn't work, so I used the manual handle and started getting people out."

Mr Short said just four passengers got out by the front door before the area around it went up in flames.

"So I ran to the middle door and started getting them out through that," he said.

"When the last passenger got off, the airbags exploded and the coach was engulfed in flames."

Mr Short told the hearing he did not believe he could have done anything to avoid the accident.

Passenger Terence Richards, from Minehead, who helped some of the more elderly people get off the coach, described Mr Short as a very, very good driver.

He said he had a view of the road down the aisle of the coach and saw the motorbike move towards the coach's side of the road.

"It came over the white line and I could see the front wheel quivering," he said. "I knew there was going to be an accident. It was so fast.

"He was obviously going over the speed limit but I don't know what speed.

"He was banking and quivering and I thought, oh God, what's going to happen now.

"And then he hit the front of the bus."

Although both vehicles were extensively damaged in the fire, police investigators concluded that both the coach and the motorbike had been in good working order.

PC Philip Howells, of the Avon and Somerset force collision investigation unit, said he had been unable to calculate the speed of the bike.

But he said he believed Mr Pavey may have misjudged his speed on the approach to the bend and possibly decelerated or braked, which was the worst thing he could have done in the situation.

However, PC Howells said it was unclear just why Mr Pavey had lost control.

"But the coach driver had little chance of avoiding or averting a collision."

Recording a verdict of accidental death, West Somerset coroner Michael Rose said there was no doubt in his mind that both motorbikes had been travelling too fast.

He said he could not tell exactly what speed Mr Pavey - who died from severe head and multiple injuries - had been travelling.

"But I think it was in the region of 75 to 80mph, well above the national speed limit.

"These limits are not put in just to slow traffic down - they are there for safety reasons.

"If he had been doing a safe speed, he might just have got out of his difficulties."