EXPERIENCED motorcyclist Sam Walden died in Belgium in a collision with a car coming in the opposite direction as he rounded a bend.

Mr Walden, 29, who ran Blacklands Lake Campsite, at Stockley, near Calne, died from serious head injuries, an inquest in Salisbury heard.

Coroner David Ridley said Mr Walden was on his motorbike on a road near Ypres in Belgium on the evening of August 6 when he took a bend, lost control and went over to the left hand side of the road into the path of a Citroen car going in the opposite direction.

Mr Ridley said reports from Belgian police showed the driver of the car tried to take evasive action but could not avoid Mr Walden, who died at the scene.

The driver was breathalysed but was not found to be have been drinking.

Mr Ridley recorded a verdict last Friday that Mr Walden died from a road traffic collision and the cause of death was a traumatic head injury.

At the time of his death his partner, Hannah Schweitzer, of Abberd Way, Calne, said he had been on his way to a motorcycle track day. Shortly before the accident she had texted Mr Walden telling him she loved him.

She said at the time: “I didn’t get a reply but I thought maybe he just didn’t have a signal.”

She heard of his death that evening when police arrived at her door.

She said: “I just dropped to the ground in shock. Sam meant everything to me. We shared so much and did so much together. We were always travelling, going to festivals and track days.”

Mr Walden ran the camp site for his parents Barbara and John, who started the business in the 1980s.

After his death many spoke of his love of life.

His mother said: “Motorcycle sport was a big part of his life and no one could have stopped him from riding. I still cannot believe that he has gone forever from our lives.

“For many of his friends he was just a good mate, always joking and laughing. But there was also a serious side to him.”