THE family of a Ferndown motorcyclist who died as a result of spilt diesel has been awarded £110,000 in compensation.

The result is believed to be the first time that a claim from such an accident has been accepted by the Motor Insurers' Bureau, an organisation set up to compensate victims of untraced or uninsured negligent road users.

Richard Cooper, known as Chris, rode over a large fuel slick in Lincolnshire, in March 2006 lost control of his Yamaha Royal Star 1300 and collided head-on with a white transit van travelling in the opposite direction.

Chris, a bus driver at Wilts and Dorset Bus Company in Ringwood, had moved to Ferndown shortly before his death, having been born and spent his life in Middlesex.

He leaves his wife Wendy and two sons, Richard and Barry.

Speaking on behalf of the family, his son Richard said: "We are extremely pleased that our claim has been successful and hope that it will now open doors for other families who have lost loved ones under similar circumstances.

"Diesel spills on our roads are responsible for a growing number of injuries and deaths, and the tragedy is that they could so easily have been prevented."

Personal injury solicitor Andrew Campbell who heads the Motorcycle Law Unit "law4bikers" at Withy King represented the Cooper family.

Mr Campbell said: "Motorcyclists and drivers who are involved in accidents and suffer injuries as a result of diesel spills often don't realise they can claim compensation because the person responsible for the spill may be unknown.

"Compensation claims are made through the Motor Insurers' Bureau when the offender cannot be traced." Mr Campbell said there were strict time limits in place for claims, and since June this year people could also claim for property damage in addition to previously being able to claim for financial losses such as lost earnings.

While death due to diesel spills is rare, there are still hundreds of accidents and injuries as a result of fuel spilt on the roads each year.

Mr Campbell also backs the national KillSpills campaign which lobbies Government to raise awareness of the growing number of road traffic accidents which are caused by diesel spills, and the simple steps that can be taken to prevent them.