POPULAR hockey player Charlie Sherman died after he lost control of his motorbike and hit the front of a bus, an inquest heard.

The hearing in Salisbury yesterday was told that Mr Sherman, 22, of Hillier Road, Devizes, was on his way to work in Trowbridge shortly before 7.40am on July 17 when his Aprilla motorcycle collided with the front of a bus in Bath Road, Devizes.

The Devizes Hockey Club player had worked as a mechanical engineer for DTR VMS Limited at the White Horse Business Park, Trowbridge, for two years.

The accident happened on the bridge over the Kennet & Avon Canal, known as Prison Bridge.

Several witnesses saw him overtake several cars at normal speed before coming on to the bridge.

The bike then began to wobble and Mr Sherman tried to regain control by accelerating and correcting the turns.

Robert Mason, the driver of the Faresaver bus, said in his witness statement that he saw the bike start to lose control when he was about 100 yards away from the bridge.

He then braked and came to a stop before the bike hit his front window.

Mr Sherman was pronounced dead at the scene at 8.44am.

PC Philip Howells, of Avon and Somerset Police, was the collision investigator who attended the scene.

He said that alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash and that rider error was the cause rather than a malfunction of the bike.

PC Howells said that harsh steering along with the speed of the turns caused the bike to lose control and when the bike wobbled Mr Sherman was unable to correct it.

He said: “He did what any rider would do and did what he could to ride out the wobble. There was nothing the driver of the bus could have done.”

Senior coroner David Ridley concluded that Mr Sherman’s death was caused the multiple traumatic injuries caused by a road traffic collision.

He said: “I give my sincere condolences to his family and friends after the loss of Charlie early this year.”