A GRIEVING widow has paid tribute to the public and police for their “fantastic support and help” after her husband died in a motorbike accident.

Gerald Wright, who was 82, was killed almost instantly when he came off the road in Woodbridge Road, Grundisburgh and crashed into the side of a thatched cottage on June 12, 2012.

He was riding a silver Gilera Cougar motorcycle and was pronounced dead at the scene of the incident, which happened around 1.30pm.

Anne Wright, of Tuddenham Avenue, Ipswich, praised the Grundisburgh community and Suffolk police officers for their help and support.

She said: “I never got the chance to thank all the people in Grundisburgh for their help – the person whose house he hit and the woman who found him.

“The police officers afterwards were wonderful and I would just like to thank them all.

“Gerald was a kind man, a kind husband and a great friend who was very supportive.

“He died doing something he loved – which was riding his motorbike.

“If you had to choose a way to go at the age of 82 then what a wonderful way.

“He was a lovely man and will be missed by many.”

During an inquest on Mr Wright at Ip-City, in Bath Street, Ipswich, it was heard the retired carpenter was believed to have known the route well.

A post-mortem examination could not find any evidence to support a medical event being the likely cause of the crash.

Pc Jeffrey Cribb, forensic collision investigator with Suffolk Police, attended the scene of the incident at 2.40pm, the inquest heard.

He said Mr Wright was believed to have been travelling at 40mph – 10mph faster than the speed limit – and said there were no signs of skid marks on the road.

He added there were no major faults or problems with the motorbike.

He said: “He was catapulted from the motorbike into the thatched cottage.

“There were no signs he had tried to stop [and] from my experience this is because the driver has suffered some sort of acute medical event.”

Suffolk coroner Dr Peter Dean gave a verdict of accidental death caused by multiple injuries, but said he could not rule out the possibility of Mr Wright suffering from a medical episode.

He said: “He was a careful driver who was familiar with the road itself.

“The incident cannot be fully explained. There is no positive evidence that a medical event occurred but I cannot exclude the possibility of it.

“He was an extremely fit man for his age, and a wonderful man who was prepared to help others. He will be greatly missed.”