A 51-year-old cyclist was killed on a charity bike ride after riding over a pothole the council had failed to repair, an inquest heard.

Martyn Uzzell died instantly when he hit the 4in deep pothole on a main road and was thrown into the path of a car. Only a month before the tragedy, the council sent workers to inspect the pothole after police said it was a hazard. But it was decided immediate repairs were not necessary.

Coroner Rob Turnbull told the inquest at Skipton Magistrates’ Court there was ‘no doubt whatsoever that the condition of the road on that occasion was the cause of the incident’. He said the pothole, which surrounded a roadside drain, had ‘existed for some time prior to the accident’.

Yesterday Mr Uzzell’s widow Kate,  48, revealed she was pursuing a  compensation claim against North Yorkshire County Council after his ‘entirely avoidable’ death. She said: ‘It is simply disgraceful that a pothole on such a busy road was allowed to go unrepaired. This should not have happened. My husband was an experienced cyclist and was out doing what he loved, while raising money for charities close to his heart, but it has cost him his life.’

The tragedy happened in June 2011 when Mr Uzzell, a service engineer, was cycling with two friends from Land’s End to John O’Groats to raise money for a cancer and children’s charity. They were riding along the A65 road at Giggleswick, North Yorkshire, when Mr Uzzell hit the pothole and fell into the path of a VW Golf behind him. He suffered devastating head injuries.

After the coroner ruled his death was the result of a road traffic accident, Mrs Uzzell, of Clevedon, Somerset, said she wanted to know ‘why something wasn’t done’ when the council had been warned about the pothole. Local authorities have a legal obligation to keep roads in a good state, but usually prioritise repairs according to how deep and dangerous potholes are. It is not known how deep the pothole was when inspected by council staff five weeks before the tragedy, the inquest heard. Police had called the council’s customer service team to report the pothole, but the operator did not pass the information on to the highways department, the inquest heard.

However, a council inspection was carried out two days later and the hole was ruled not serious enough for immediate attention. A further inspection was made of the road before the accident and again no action was taken.

Mrs Uzzell said: ‘I do not want anyone else to lose a loved one because the roads have not been properly maintained. ‘My life has been devastated, I have lost my best friend and soul mate, a lovely person, who bought joy to my life, I am lost and lonely without Martyn.  'And it isn’t just me, Martyn’s entire family is also suffering the loss of someone very special.’

Police confirmed Mr Uzzell and his group had cycled competently, travelling at a reasonable speed with a good distance from one another and were wearing appropriate clothing. The Crown Prosecution Service decided the council failings did not constitute a criminal offence and refused to press charges. Mrs Uzzell said: ‘I was devastated when the CPS told me they would not be prosecuting. My husband has died yet no one is being held to account as to how this was allowed to happen.’

North Yorkshire County Council said it would consider the coroner’s comments carefully and expressed sympathy. Potholes, made worse by harsh winter weather, cause millions of pounds of damage to cars each year but are especially dangerous to cyclists.

Chris Peck, of the Cycling Touring Club, said: ‘They can cause injury and in some cases such as this, death.’

Article supplied by Street Repairs

This mostly solo trip started in Perth Scotland,through 19 countries across Europe, Asia and finishing in Perth Australia. It took approximately 4 and a half months to cover the 28,800 km. This 6 Part TV series tells the story of that adventure.

Steven Kirk a long time resident in Perth reaches middle age and decides that the world has more to offer the keen motorcyclist. Inspired by pioneers who first arrived on Australian shores centuriesearlier, Steven tried to recapture some of that excitement by travelling on his own quest from theoriginal Perth in Scotland. Hoping to feel similar experiences of the long journey by land, taking him through the Middle East and across the top end of Australia before arriving home in Perth.

The DVD initially aimed at motorcyclists has seen interest from the general public in looking at the different cultures and countries travelled through. Described as gritty and truthful, perhaps with some rough edges but with an interesting story of an ordinary bloke on an extraordinary journey.

The DVD is available in Australia and UK via website purchase www.perthtoperth.com and selected motorcycle shops in Australia. 

What started out as a hobby to record the trip has turned into an epic TV series, aimed primarily to inspire others, now supporting charities with the benefit of sales worldwide. In UK all profits go to Help for Heroes. Help for Heroes give practical, direct support to our current wounded

Some comments from adventure motorcycle forums and emails:

"One of the best and easiest to watch amateur films"

"They really are fantastic, arguably one of the best produced and edited shows since Long Way Round"

"Excellent. The presentation was superb. Top Bloke"

"I hope you enjoyed the trip as much as I enjoyed watching it. Great adventure....some tense moments there in Pakistan"

“Absolutely brilliant, great achievement”

About Steven

Originally from Scotland, now living in Australia for past 22 years, Steven runs a successful Fire Engineering consultancy in Perth. Motorcycling is in his blood, having ridden in several countries with famous names such as Charley Boorman [Long Way Round, Long Way Down, By any means, Worlds Most Dangerous roads] , Ross Noble comedian, Simon Pavey [Race to Dakar and Long Way Round], Ted Simon [Jupiter’s Travels] he has joined the list of many who partake in motorcycling adventures on a almost routine basis. Now he is planning the next big adventure, Alaska in USA to the Southern tip of Argentina later this year which will also be recorded for TV.

www.perthtoperth.com

Thomas Ramette, aboard his Honda CRF450R fitted with Michelin Starcross MS3 tyres, dominated the final round of the Garmin Arenacross Tour on Saturday evening, taking a flag-to-flag victory in the Main Event at London’s Wembley Arena.

After gelling quickly with the Wembley track, the French rider also took impressive victories in both his earlier heats riding for Dave Thorpe’s Michelin-sponsored team. Taking first place in the first heat, Ramette was followed across the line by Italian team-mate Angelo Pellegrini, who finished in third place and Luke Arbon who came in fifth.

In the second heat Pellegrini finished second behind Ramette, while Arbon recovered well from a first-corner crash to cross the line in fifth place once again. Ramette continued his domination of the evening in Wembley’s Main Event, while Pellegrini rode into fifth. The Michelin-sponsored team ended the series in fifth place overall. The squad will now focus on the opening round of the British Motocross Championship which kicks off at Landrake in Cornwall on 16 March.

Thomas Ramette: "It was a great night as I won both my heats and the Main Event so it was perfect for me. The track was really slippery and you had to ride smooth, so I'm really happy to finish the season with a win."

Angelo Pellegrini: "I'm not 100% happy, because I wanted to finish the season on the podium again like the last round. The track and the event was really good this evening and I hope to be able to come back in the future."

Luke Arbon: "Today was a little bit of a let-down as I felt really good on the bike and qualified with a good lap time. I just suffered a little bit with the outside gate picks and struggled with my starts. The track was really slippery tonight, but I can't thank Dave and the team enough for everything that they have done."

Dave Thorpe: "Tonight has been very good for the team and Thomas has fulfilled the potential that he showed at Sheffield. He is a quality rider in Arenacross and I'm pleased for him as he worked hard this week and is a great guy to work with. Angelo has also been great for us in this series and now just needs to focus on improving his starts. Luke is another great rider and has done so well on the smaller machine.”

Find out more about motorcycling with Michelin at www.moto.michelin.co.uk

Michelin, the leading tyre company, is dedicated to sustainably improving the mobility of goods and people by manufacturing and marketing tyres for every type of vehicle, including aeroplanes, cars, bicycles/motorcycles, earthmovers, farm equipment and trucks. It also offers electronic mobility support services on ViaMichelin.com and publishes travel guides, hotel and restaurant guides, maps and road atlases. Headquartered in Clermont-Ferrand, France, Michelin is present in more than 170 countries, has 111,200 employees and operates 67 production plants in 17 different countries. The Group has a Technology Centre in charge of research and development with operations in Europe, North America and Asia. 

Let's hope the good weather continues throughout 2014 and we have some blinding events this summer. Into The Valley kicks the year off on the 2nd of May at Dalton Park, East Yorkshire's jewel in the crown. We are pleased to confirm we have booked Skafinger and Bad Sugar for this event - more info below.

Hard times? We know how important our events are to you and so we have made sure that there are no prices increases for all of our events this year.

Tickets for our events are now on sale through our web site - this is the easiest and most secure way to get them. If you don't trust t'internet then don't worry - you can still buy them by cheque and get delivery by pigeon post.

As you may have noticed, we have lumped our Facebook pages under Yorkshire MAG Events and Rallies. Spread the word and invite your friends to the best rallies in Yorkshire and the UK!

As always, our events are held on behalf of Riders' Rights throughout UK and Europe.
No Cars, No Vans, No Pedestrians, No Excuses

www.farmyardparty.com

Tsingtao WK Racing has confirmed the signing on Gloucester's Dan Cooper for the 2014 Isle of Man TT Races fuelled by Monster Energy.

Dan is joining the team after a successful period with Centurion Racing who decided not to race this year. Dan has a long-standing relationship with the Hampshire Motorcycles based team having ridden for them in 2011 in the British Supersport Championship.

Dan will be competing in all classes at the TT Races including the bikesocial.co.uk Lightweight TT Race for the first time on board the WK650i, which had its debut with the team in 2013 with Dave Johnson. Dan will be onboard MSS performance built Kawasaki machinery for the other classes, which the team will also be using for their BSB campaign.

Dan's TT career has included a highest placed 10th in last year's Monster Energy Supersport Race 1, his highest place at the TT since his debut in 2010, but he also achieved a podium place in the inaugural Classic TT in 2013 in the Okells Brewery 350cc Race.

Dave Tyson, Team manager, Tsingtao WK Racing said: "We are really please to have completed Dan's signing. It's been on the cards since Motorcycle Live in November and to finally sit down and agree a deal has been great. I am sure all the bikes will be competitive this year and we are looking to form a relationship with Dan similar to the one he had at Centurion and work with him over the next few years. I think consistency of team and rider at road events has proven to be key over the years and I am sure it won't be long before Dan is on the podium at the TT."

Dan Cooper commented: "I am now able to relax a bit after getting the deal all sorted, and want to thank Dave and his team for the opportunity to ride in 2014. Their bikes will be competitive and we will also look to do as many Supersport rounds as I can to ensure that I'm ready for the roads."

He continued: "This is a real opportunity for me to move forward knowing that after a great relationship with Centurion I am in that family orientated team again with guys I know. Taking my mechanic Alan will also help the team as well as myself has he has so much experience. I can't wait to get testing and meet the rest of the BSB squad."