Suspension unit caused bike death

Mr Campbell died as a result of the crash in July last year

A fatal accident inquiry has found that a failed suspension unit caused a quad bike crash which killed a young man in the south of Scotland.

Paul Campbell, 25, of Victoria Gardens, Eastriggs, died in the accident on the old Annan to Gretna road last July.

Sheriff Johanna Johnston said the unit failure had caused his quad bike to swerve into the opposite carriageway where it had collided with a car.

She added no "reasonable precautions" could have avoided the crash.

The accident happened on the B721 Annan to Gretna road on 29 July last year at about 1800 BST.

Mr Campbell was driving the Mikilon MA7-250 quad bike when its front suspension unit failed.

He became unable to control the vehicle and it swerved across the road where he was hit by a car.

Mr Campbell, who was trapped under the car, suffered serious chest injuries in the incident and died as a result.

'Tragic loss'

A fatal accident inquiry into the crash was held at Dumfries Sheriff Court earlier this year.

It found the incident was a result of a "specific, and possibly unique, defect" in the construction of the quad bike which had been imported from China.

Sheriff Johnston added that the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) was continuing its examinations of the vehicle.

She said she was satisfied that there were statutory powers available to them should any safety defects be found which would necessitate a vehicle recall or contacting all registered keepers.

She added: "The family have suffered the tragic loss of Paul Campbell.

"It may be some small consolation that every effort is being made to ensure that the defect, which had such terrible consequences, is unlikely to occur in other quad bikes of this type."