TWO motorcyclists accused of riding dangerously on a Selby road, minutes before one of them collided with a car, were today found not guilty on the instruction of a judge.

The Recorder, David Robson QC, advised the jury at York Crown Court to find Glynn Longbottom and Timothy Neil Whiteley not guilty of dangerous driving because he believed the prosecution case could not support the charges.

Addressing the men, the Recorder said: "Don't think that anyone thinks you behaved wonderfully that day. I do hope that you will learn to use your motorcycles more cautiously."

Longbottom, 25, of Landing Lane, Gateforth, and Whiteley, 29, of New Lane, Selby, had denied riding their motorbikes dangerously on the B1222 between Escrick and Stillingfleet.

Earlier Nick Barker, prosecuting, told the jury that at about 6.30pm on April 8, 2002, Longbottom, an interior designer, was travelling from York, with Whiteley, a mechanic, and was in collision with a silver Ford Fiesta at the Kelfield junction of the B1222, near Stillingfleet.

He said witnesses Susan Smith and her sister-in-law, Georgina George, had been overtaken by the pair as they travelled from York on the A19, and turned right on to the B1222. Mr Barker said Ms Smith saw the bikers do "wheelie" manoeuvres on their Yamaha machines before they sped off at a great speed.

Ms Smith then turned to her sister-in-law, and commented: "Those two are not long for this world".

Mr Barker said another motorist, Kevin Paul Rich, had then seen the motorcyclists.

Mr Barker told the jury: "He (Mr Rich) was looking in his mirror and remembered suddenly being aware of two motorbikes overtaking him at a great speed. It was such to make him physically jump in the seat of his car. When Mr Rich got round the bend some seconds later, he discovered there had been a collision."

Mr Barker said Longbottom's motorbike had collided with a car driven by Robert Birkett, who had been travelling from Kelfield to Escrick, and been turning right at the time of impact.

Mr Birkett told the court he saw Longbottom brake. He said: "I didn't think there was going to be any sort of problem, but the back of the bike seemed to snake around a little bit. It started to come back towards me again. It felt a bit like a magnet being attracted to something. It was such a split-second thing."

Updated: 12:12 Tuesday, July 29, 2003