A keen biker who hoped to become a Blood Bikes volunteer died after he lost control of his motorcycle, an inquest heard.

Peter Marshall, 59, of Hollins Park, Moor Row, died in Royal Preston Hospital on March 2 last year, 18 days after the crash on the A591 near Staveley.

The inquest heard that Mr Marshall was travelling back from taking his new Yamaha motorcycle for its first service in Chorley on February 12 when he lost control at about 2.45pm.

The bike bounced off the kerb and was described by witnesses as "wobbling" before it toppled onto its side and slid along the road with Mr Marshall onboard.

Mr Marshall's friend and former brother-in-law Jonathan Hogge was riding behind him on his own motorcycle and told the inquest that the pair had stopped at a service station earlier, where Mr Marshall complained of feeling tired and drank a coffee then seemed fine to carry on.

Minutes before the crash which cost his friend his life, Mr Hogge said he noticed Mr Marshall slid his visor up, which he believed would have been to allow fresh air in, and seconds before the collision he saw Mr Marshall's head slump down and the bike veer to the left.

Several witness statements supported Mr Hogge’s version of events and said speed or weather did not appear to be a factor.

PC Dugald Cunningham, of Cumbria police’s collision investigation unit, said: "I do believe fatigue was a major contributing factor in this collision."

PC Cunningham added that he could not say whether the incident was due to the long hours of riding that day, a loss of concentration or a medical episode.

Cumbria police's vehicle examiner determined there were no faults with the bike.

Mr Marshall was treated at the scene by paramedic Graham Park and a number of off-duty medical professionals before being taken by the Great North Air Ambulance to the critical care unit in Preston.

He was diagnosed with a significant chest injury as well as a head injury and remained in the unit for more than two weeks, receiving treatment which included an operation to stabilise his chest wall.

Mr Marshall was said to be confused but making a steady improvement and it was decided that his condition was good enough for him to be moved to the hospital's major trauma unit on March 1.

However, in the early hours of the following day his condition deteriorated rapidly and he suffered two cardiac arrests.

He was pronounced dead at 5.43am.

A post-mortem ruled Mr Marshall died of multiple injuries caused by the blunt trauma of the crash.

Dr Sarah Hauxwell, who carried out the examination, said Mr Marshall had coronary artery atheroma – a build-up of fatty deposits on the arteries around the heart – which could potentially have triggered a medical episode and led him to lose control of his motorcycle.

Area coroner Kirsty Gomersal concluded that Mr Marshall died as a result of a road traffic collision.

She said: "He will be sorely missed I'm sure by his friends and family."

A statement from Mavis Marshall, Mr Marshall's mother, which was read at the inquest said her son grew up in Sale, Cheshire, and was the middle child of three brothers.

The family moved to St Bees when he was young and he went to school in the village then at Richmond School.

Mr Marshall was described as "good with his hands" and after leaving school he worked as a carpet fitter for a furniture shop before starting an apprenticeship at Sellafield, where he worked as a process worker until his retirement two years ago.

Mrs Marshall said: "Peter was always keen on motorbikes.

"He had a bike before he learned to drive a car and he always owned a bike as long as I can remember."

Mr Hogge told the inquest his friend had wanted to complete an advanced qualification which would allow him to ride as a medical courier to help the emergency services.