A FARNWORTH man died after suffering severe head and internal injuries when he was involved in a collision with a motorbike.

An inquest heard how Paul Atkinson, aged 30, was killed on May 1 this year as he was crossing Longcauseway in Farnworth after visiting a snooker hall with a group of friends.

Mr Atkinson, of Netherton Grove, who was unemployed at the time of his death following an accident which had crushed his spine, had been drinking with his brother-in-law Carl Rogers in the afternoon at Cues snooker hall.

Witnesses claimed he stepped into the road where he was involved in the collision with a motorbike being driven by 36-year-old Darren Sandiford, 36, of Arran Road, Radcliffe.

Mr Atkinson, a former Harper Green School pupil, died later that night at the Royal Bolton Hospital having suffered a fracture to the base of his skull.

Witness statements differed as to the estimated speed of the motorbike, but all agreed that the driver could not have swerved in time to avoid a collision and that Mr Atkinson had not looked before stepping into the road.

Police Constable Philip Kitching, who is a specialist traffic accident investigator, calculated that Mr Sandiford had been driving between about 23 and 29mph at the time of impact and could not have been travelling at more than 36mph immediately prior to the accident.

Bolton Coroner Jen Leeming recorded a verdict of accidental death and praised the quick-thinking motorists who had stopped to help Mr Atkinson following the accident.

Mr Atkinson's sister, Nichola Rogers, aged 33, told the BEN that she agreed with the verdict of the inquest.

She said: "There's no doubt it was an accident.

"Both my brother and the motorbike driver were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"It didn't really matter what the verdict was because nothing can bring back my brother.

"The whole experience has been mindnumbing and listening to the evidence was very hard."

Mr Atkinson, who was a well known figure in Farnworth, had decided only days before his death that he wanted to donate his organs if he lost his life.

Unfortunately many of his organs could not be used because they were damaged in the accident, but his heart valves and corneas were successfully donated.