Back<

Mark was only 26 and a larger than life character who had loads of friends.  His biggest passion was his motorbikes and through the bikes he found even more friends.  He started off his biking with a cheap, old, tatty KTM trail bike which he lovingly restored.  After a time, Mark got a new job and wanted something a bit bigger so he treated himself to a brand new Bandit 600cc which was his pride and joy.  He was always cleaning it, adding new accessories and keeping it in pristine condition.  Then Mark started showing interest in the stunt side of biking, although he told me on many occasions he was not participating in doing them himself, but as time went on and the interest grew, unfortunately he started doing some of the simpler stunts.  As he didn’t want to ruin his Bandit doing them he decided to purchase a second hand Honda Fireblade 900cc (which from day one I personally did not like as I felt it was far too powerful and had been told by other bikers that this model was a bit of a death trap – which unfortunately it proved to be).

On 2nd May 2007 Mark left home on his Fireblade saying that he would be going to a bike meet straight after work in Basingstoke and would be home at approximately 10.30pm.  Mark was always very good like that – he used to tell us what time to expect him back and if there was any change he would always let us know.  The day came and passed and I went to bed.  I looked at the clock and thought it was unusual because it was gone 11.00pm and there was no sign of Mark.  Anyway, for some reason I could not sleep, then at 1.30am there was a knock at the door.  When I opened it there were two police officers standing there.  They informed me that Mark had been involved in a motorbike accident and was in hospital.  I automatically thought Mark had probably broken an arm or a leg or something similar.  The police then took me to Basingstoke hospital.  When I arrived there I had the biggest shock of my life, to find out Mark not only had broken both his legs and pelvis, but was losing blood heavily, having severed a main artery and was in the operating theatre undergoing major emergency surgery.  Three hours later Mark was transferred into the intensive care unit where I saw him for the first time – a sight which will haunt me for the rest of my life – seeing Mark laid there with all the machinery and staff working on him, trying their hardest to keep him alive.  They carried on all night and through the best part of the following day, but unfortunately Mark was too badly injured and was not responding to treatment.  He sadly died at 3.00pm that afternoon.  Then my wife and I had the sad task to go and tell the family and six of his closest friends who had gathered at the hospital the tragic news – not an easy task when you are so upset and then having to watch his friends cry in front of you.  It was one of the saddest things I have ever been confronted with.

The following day my wife and I returned to the hospital to pick up Mark’s personal belongings.  To our amazement his crash helmet and jacket never had a mark on them apart from some grass staining, which goes to show that no matter how good your clothing / protection is, you are not invincible when it comes to motorbikes.  We then went to the accident scene to try and ascertain what happened.  When we arrived there a sight struck me that brought tears to my eyes, there were loads of floral tributes and kind messages.  I was totally amazed.

After taking with the police and witnesses, we found out that unfortunately Mark had been doing a high speed wheelie, but when the bike came back down on both its wheels the bike became unstable (apparently bikers call this tank slapping) then Mark lost control, came off and unfortunately ran straight into a signpost at high speed.  The impact was so hard that the bike broke into three pieces and was unrecognisable.

In conclusion, Mark was a very special son and is sadly missed by all his family and his many friends.  He was a character that can never be replaced and will never be forgotten.  Now all we have is a very quiet, empty bedroom with a lot of memories and a grave which we visit regularly to be with him.

I only hope that if, by reading this, it makes you think twice before doing stunts or tricks on a motorbike, Mark’s death will not have been totally in vain.

Written by Father of Mark.