Police are appealing for witnesses after a motoryclist suffered fatal injuries when he came off his machine on the outskirts of Bishop Auckland yesterday afternoon.
The victim was 48-year-old Les Ballard, of Barrington Meadows in Bishop Auckland. A father of two, he worked at the Fablink engineering site in Evenwood and was on his way home when the accident happened.
Mr Ballard suffered fatal injuries when he came off his Kawasaki bike and collided with a telegraph pole as he attempted to overtake two other vehicles on the road between West Auckland and High Etherly.
He had been married to his wife, Debbie for more than 28 years and leaves a daughter, Emma, aged 24 and a son, 21-year-old Jason. He was also a grandfather to Jason’s daughter, 17-months old Faith.
Bishop Auckland-born and bred, Mr Ballard trained and qualified as an engineer with British Rail before moving some years ago to Fablink; he had recently been promoted to the post of head of quality with the company. Outside of work he used to be a coach with the South Durham Gymnastics Club.
Police are appealing for any witnesses to the accident, which happened at 1710hrs on Thursday to contact the collision investigation unit on 0191 375 2159.