THE widow of the latest biker to be killed on North Yorkshire's roads has appealed to motorcyclists and car drivers to take extra care.

Bike fanatic Bill Poskitt died a week after he was in collision with a car less than two miles from his home at Sherburn-in-Elmet, near Selby.

It brought the biker death toll on the county's roads to 22 this year - only one short of last year's worst-ever total.

Mr Poskitt, 61, was travelling home from work on his 900cc Triumph Trident when the tragedy happened.

His devastated wife, Brenda, 57, said her husband realised the dangers and was always very safety-conscious.

She said: "He wasn't a loony, racing all over the place. He was such a steady rider that I often travelled with him as pillion passenger.

"A lot of blame is automatically heaped on to bikers, but I can tell you that car drivers also need to take a lot more care.

"There are two sides to every story and I would urge car drivers as well as bikers to take into account the vulnerability of people on two wheels when they make decisions on the road."

Mrs Poskitt, of Deighton Avenue, said: "He had three motorbikes, one of them a classic which he had restored. They were his pride and joy.

"We didn't have any children and we were very close. We were planning to celebrate our ruby wedding next year.

"Bill was always playing jokes on people. I can't imagine life without him."

Mr Poskitt, a former secretary of the White Rose Football Club at Sherburn, worked as a security guard.

He survived the accident for a week and was recovering from two operations on a broken pelvis when he contracted an infection and his lungs collapsed.

Mrs Poskitt now plans to donate her husband's cherished 1934 Francis-Barnett motorbike to a museum.

She said: "Bill would like that. He had a heart of gold."

Updated: 09:30 Saturday, August 16, 2003