A teenager who was killed after losing control of a stolen motorbike, died an accidental death, a coroner ruled.

Mark Gurney, 19, from Biggin Hill, died on May 2 of severe head injuries after losing control of a motorbike he was riding down Central Parade in New Addington shortly after midnight.

He was rushed to hospital where doctors battled to save his life but died of severe head injuries just a few hours after the accident.

The inquest heard a witness statement made by Mark Staveley who explained that his 625cc bike was stolen from his garage in New Addington during the evening of May 1.

He identified it as the same bike Mr Gurney was riding by a lock thrown clear of the vehicle when it crashed.

Five members of Mr Gurney's family, including his mother and father, were in court. They cried as they heard the evidence.

Witness statements read out in court by Coroner Dr Roy Palmer described how the front wheel of the bike lifted slightly off the road each time Mr Gurney changed gear.

It was estimated he was travelling at between 45 and 55 miles per hour when he lost control of the vehicle.

Witness Wayne Patton said: “One or two people who got off the bike said to Mark not to get on it as it was a bit of an animal.

“He got on it anyway.”

Mr Gurney fell off the bike when it hit the curb.

Emma Heppell, who was driving home from a night out with her boyfriend, stopped at the scene when she came across the accident moments after it happened.

She explained how she administered first aid to Mr Gurney while her boyfriend called for an ambulance.

She said: “You could see he had a serious head injury. I kept talking to him saying his name but he was already unconscious.”

Miss Heppell discovered that she knew Mark Gurney as they both lived in Biggin Hill.

She said:”I could not believe it was him, I just did not recognise him.”

She said she noticed the bike had been removed from the scene as she was tending to Mr Gurney.

Police officers said they had difficulty reconstructing what happened because the stolen bike had been removed from the scene when they got there.

Coroner Dr Roy Palmer said Mr Gurney had no traces of drugs or alcohol in his blood when the accident occurred.

He said: “He lost control of the bike for whatever reason, it was a very potent and powerful bike.

“Powerful bikes need to be treated with a great deal of respect. He was unfamiliar with the motorbike, it was a stolen bike.

“I don’t think it made much of a difference he was not wearing protective leathers or a helmet because of the way he came off the bike and impacted with the road.

“This may be of some comfort to the family.

"Mark Gurney died an accidental death."