THE tragic death of a genuine and popular Knutsfordian was ‘an accident in the true sense of the word’, an inquest has ruled.

Old Sessions House bartender Jason Hayes died at the age of 25 following a collision with a lamppost on Chester Road in Oakmere on June 27.

The former Knutsford Academy student, whose funeral was attended by hundreds of mourners, had been out riding his blue Suzuki motorbike with friends.

But after his bike made contact with the kerb near to the junction of Stoneyford Lane, he was thrown from his bike and subsequently died from his injuries.

During an inquest at Crewe Coroners’ Court on Tuesday, family and friends paid tribute to Jason and said that they will remember him as the ‘lovely, positive and genuine’ person that he was.

David Neville, Jason’s stepdad, told the court how Jason had moved out of the family home a year ago to live with friends in Wincham and later Davenham.

He really enjoyed his dream job as a bespoke upholsterer for Style Matters in Knutsford and also worked as a bartender at Old Sessions House in Princess Street for the social aspect and to make extra money.

Jason passed his car driving test in February 2016, but had always held an interest in motorbikes, which his family say they were ‘not ecstatic about’ due to how vulnerable they can be.

David told the court of how serious Jason took his motorbike lessons and that when family members had travelled in the car with him, Jason always drove ‘carefully and sensibly’.

He bought a motorbike after passing his test earlier this year and went on a number of rides with friends across the north west.

“Jason was a lovely person who made friends easily and had a good sense of humour,” David said.

“Jason’s funeral was well attended by more than 350 people and he is a huge loss to his family, friends and all that new him.”

Tributes were also paid by two of Jason’s friends who were living with him and were on the road with him at the time of his accident.

They told the court how Jason asked them to go for a ride as it was a nice day, but as they attempted to navigate the bend on Chester Road at approximately 9.45pm, the lead biker noticed something was wrong behind.

As they turned back, they could see that Jason’s bike was lying on the pavement and that Jason had significant injuries.

An ambulance was called and they performed CPR until paramedics took over, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Jason knew his limits and was happy to sit at the back of the riding group, not showing off and going at his own pace,” one said.

“He was a lovely, positive and genuine guy who was very happy and easy to get along with.”

After studying the evidence, forensic collision investigator Constable Michael Thompson concluded that Jason’s front wheel had made contact with the kerb causing it to lose pressure and deflate.

The bike lost stability and he was thrown from it and hit a nearby lamppost.

Peter Sigee, assistant coroner for Cheshire, confirmed that Jason died of severe head injuries as a result of a road traffic collision.

PC Tony Hayhurst of Cheshire Police, who was present at the inquest, added: “Everything I know about Jason tells me that he was a genuine, well-liked and popular person - a positive contributor to society.

“He died doing something he loved, riding his motorcycle with two of his best friends on a beautiful summer’s evening.

“There is no evidence that Jason was riding fast, aggressively or in any way other than properly.

“It would seem that he made an error of judgement while negotiating a bend – an accident in the true sense of the word.”