Mum’s tribute to tragic bike crash teen

Lydia Taylor-Harrison, 18, died of multiple injuries when she was thrown from the back of her boyfriend’s Honda Firestorm in August last year.

Lydia and her boyfriend Henry Rainford, 21, had been restoring a dinghy together and were returning home along Rawcliffe Road, St Michaels, when the bike they were travelling on collided with a Nissan Micra, driven by Pamela Oakes.

Mrs Oakes was pulling out of a concealed entrance to the Rawcliffe Hall country club and caravan park when the motorbike appeared in her line of vision. The two vehicles collided and Lydia and Henry were thrown into the road.

At an inquest into Lydia’s death at Preston Coroner’s Court yesterday, Henry, an experienced motorcyclist, said: “After the accident all I can basically remember is waking up in the ambulance.

“It is like if you get a film reel and cut segments out and splice it back up. It’s like bits and bats but I can’t piece it all together.”

Mrs Oakes sobbed as she told the court she heard the impact and thought her car was on fire. She and her husband got out and saw the motorbike lying on its side and the two bikers lying unconscious in the road.

Mrs Oakes called the emergency services and waited until they arrived.

Lydia was taken to Blackpool Victoria Hospital where she died of multiple injuries in the early hours of August 31.

Deputy coroner Simon Jones recorded a verdict of accidental death and said: “I believe there was little either could do to prevent a collision.”

Visibility was limited due to a hedge which could not be trimmed in the months leading up to the collision.

Since the accident Lancashire County Council has installed signage in Rawcliffe Road to mark the concealed entrance to the caravan park.

Paying tribute to her daughter, mum Lisa, of Carr End Lane, Stalmine, said: “She was a free spirit. A lot of people have said they could never imagine her growing old.

“She was vibrant, headstrong and full of life. She was loved by many.”

A memorial bench will be unveiled at Knott End Cafe on March 19 - Lydia’s 19th birthday.