THE tight-knit community of Burley-in-Wharfedale was left reeling on Sunday after the death of a 25-year-old motor-cyclist.

Allun Rockett, who lived with his parents, Robert and Sheila, at Aireville Terrace, was killed on Sunday when his motorbike collided with a car just outside Otley.

Despite the efforts of an off duty nurse and paramedics from the air ambulance, Mr Rockett died at the scene of the accident at 2.55pm on the A660 Otley bypass.

He was driving along the bypass on his Kawasaki when he was in collision with a Rover 400 car. The two female occupants of the car were taken to Leeds General Infirmary with slight injuries.

One, a 71-year-old woman was said to have slight head injuries.

A second motor-cyclist, who was travelling behind Mr Rockett, and is believed to be his cousin, was also taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Friends and villagers have paid tribute to Mr Rockett, of Aireville Terrace.

Babs Hern, landlady of the Red Lion Hotel on Main Street, where Mr Rockett regularly met up with friends, said customers had been stunned by the news.

She said: "He was very well-liked. He was a very sociable person and had an extremely good sense of humour, and he was always ready for a laugh and a joke.

"It is such a shock for people. We got a telephone call on Sunday and his friends all gathered in here. The whole pub was upset."

Friend Darren Bulmer, 21, said: "He was a really nice lad, a cracking lad. He was always having a laugh and smiling.

"He would help anyone."

Mr Rockett was a former Ilkley Grammar School pupil and was well-known around the village for his bright yellow car.

Villager Emma Wardle, a friend of Mr Rockett's sister, said: "He had a nickname, Big Al, and he was mad about cars.

"He was well-known, not just by people his own age but everybody in the village."

Police at Weetwood Road traffic are appealing for witnesses to the accident to contact them on (0113) 2413447.

l At the opening of the inquest into Mr Rockett's death at Leeds Coroner's Court yesterday it was said that Mr Rockett was heading along the A660, accompanied by his cousin, Philip Rockett, when the accident happened.

Coroner's officer Richard Musgrove said a Rover car driven by Alan Wood was making a U-turn on the road when bike and car collided. Paramedics confirmed Mr Rockett dead at the scene.

He was later identified by his father, Robert. Police are still investigating the collision, and the inquest was adjourned until a later date.