Biker, 49, killed in combine crash (From York Press)

Biker, 49, killed in combine crash

11:00am Monday 20th October 2008 in News By Jeremy Small

A MOTORCYCLIST from York who “was the joy and love of everybody” died after colliding with a combine harvester only a few miles from his home.

Adrian Milburn, 49, of Church Lane, Dunnington, was killed in the smash on the A166, near the village of Gate Helmsley.

His mother, Inge Milburn, whom he lived with, today paid tribute to her son, describing him as “my rock and my life”.

Mrs Milburn, 75, said: “It was so tragic that this accident happened. I could not have had a better son. He was a very popular person. He was the love and joy of everybody – he was the centrepiece of every group.

“Everybody’s rallied round and said they can’t believe it and they miss him. It makes you realise what a great person he was.” The crash happened at about 3.40pm on Saturday, outside a property called Brook Villa, on the York-side of Gate Helmsley.

Adrian was riding his red-coloured Triumph Rockett motorcycle towards Stamford Bridge, when he was in collision with the combine harvester, which was travelling in the opposite direction. Adrian, who worked as a technician for Nestlé, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said the driver of the combine harvester, a man from Gate Helmsley, was uninjured but “very badly shocked”.

Mrs Milburn said of Adrian: “He loved his bike. He loved biking. He was a seasonal biker.

“He’s had bikes for years and years. That was his life and that was his joy, so every moment he could spare he was on his bike. He lived for his bike. If anybody loved biking, it was him.”

She said Adrian loved to travel, and that he had visited, among other places, Poland, Africa, India and Cuba. “Sometimes he went on his motorcycle, but not always,” she said. “He loved travelling with his bike or without.

“That was his hobby and his life.” She described Adrian as “an absolute perfectionist”, and said he had dedicated most of his spare time to doing up his motorcycle. North Yorkshire Police are appealing for any person who witnessed the collision, or who saw either of the two vehicles immediately prior to the accident, to phone TC Mark Gonella, of the Malton road policing group, on 0845 60 60 247.

In 1991, Adrian and his Harley Davidson bike were featured in The Press. Adrian, then 31, had spent £5,000 over five years on top of its initial cost to fit it with the latest equipment. Adrian had bought the bike from a shop near Castleford after it had been imported from Belgium.