A FORMER policeman was killed when the motorbike he was riding collided with a car outside a hotel junction in Knutsford, a court has heard.

Ian Glanister, 29, a father of two from St Helens was riding his Suzuki along the A50 Manchester Road just after 6.20pm on March 28 last year when a silver Mercedes, pulled out from the Cottons Hotel.

The Mercedes was being driven by Gordon Hyland, 50, of Bexton Lane, Knutsford, who has pleaded not guilty to a charge of causing death by careless driving at a trial at Chester Crown Court.

Mark Connor, prosecuting, told the court how Mr Glanister had been crushed under Hyland's car and said the defendant's driving had 'fallen below the standard expected by a competent road user'.

A black BMW X3 had been driving from the direction of Knutsford and was indicating to turn left into the hotel, when Hyland made the decision to pull out to turn right on to the busy road.

Mr Connor said: "Had he waited less than a second, he would have seen Mr Glanister on his motorbike travelling behind the BMW, and avoided the collision.

"Had he waited, Mr Glanister would have passed by the junction without incident."

CCTV shown to the court showed the moment Hyland's Mercedes collided with the motorbike, with the car visibly lifting up off the ground.

Mr Connor went on: "Mr Hyland should not have considered pulling out of the junction until it was safe to do so."

He also told the jury how Mr Glanister had been travelling behind the black BMW, which was being driven by Keith Edmondson and how it could be considered he was 'too close to'.

In a statement read out to the court, Mr Edmondson said how he had been aware of a motorbike travelling behind him and had got the impression he wanted to go passed him as 'he was right behind me'.

However, he went on to say how the motorcycle had also 'held back' from doing so, despite Mr Edmondson, a member of the gym at the hotel, driving closer to the left hand side of the road, providing him with the chance to do so.

He said: "I started to indicate to turn left into the hotel and my attention shifted from the motorbike to the manoeuvre I was about to make.

"I noticed a light coloured saloon type car waiting to turn out, with the position it was on the road suggesting it would be turning right."

Mr Edmondson added that despite hearing "a noise" did not see or hear the collision and only became aware of the tragedy after he left the gym some time later.

The court also heard a statement from Mr Glanister's wife Leighanne, who said her husband had been a 'very experienced and careful rider'.

She had been speaking to her husband on the phone just moments before the crash.

"I spoke to him on his mobile phone at around 6.10pm," she said.

"He was in a petrol station in Knutsford.

"He then put the phone in his leather's and he carried on the call by using the hands free device that was fitted on his bike.

"He was familiar with how it worked and was used to talking on the phone as he rode.

"At around 6.17pm I was mid-sentence with him when the line was suddenly cut off."

Mrs Glanister made 52 calls to her husband as she desperately tried to contact him and told of the 'great shock' his death had caused his friends and family.

In a police interview given to police after the incident, Hyland told officers he had spent the day working on his laptop at the hotel, a practice he did around two times a week as an alternative to working remotely from home.

He had not been stressed or tired when he left to return home to his family and explained how he had looked both left and right before he had decided it had been safe to pull out of the junction.

"I saw a Landrover type vehicle (the BMW) indicating to turn left, and the only other vehicle I could see was a black Mini, which was quite a long distance away," he said.

"I waited until the guy had committed to make the left turn into the hotel.

"I didn't see the motorbike until after the collision."

Hyland said he had no idea what had happened in the immediate aftermath and it was only when he got out of his car did he see the motorbike on the floor.

"When I got around to the passenger side I notice Mr Glanister underneath the car," he explained.

"I was in deep shock.

"I tried to talk to him and turned around to oncoming traffic shouting 'help, help'.

"I don't feel carelessness was involved.

"It was a pure accident."

Hyland assisted other members of the public in lifting up the car and pulling Mr Glanister out and despite efforts to save his life, he was pronounced dead at the scene shortly before 7.15pm.

The trial is expected to last three days.