ANOTHER biker has been killed on North Yorkshire's roads, bringing the motorcycle death toll to SIX this month.

The latest fatality happened yesterday afternoon on the A19 between Riccall and Escrick, when a motorbike and car collided head-on.

The biker, a 22-year-old married man from the Selby area, was travelling towards York on his Honda 600cc machine. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

The driver of the green Volvo car, travelling towards Selby, was treated in York Hospital for minor injuries. He is understood to be an Australian, in the UK on business.

The A19 was closed for several hours and police are appealing for witnesses. Yesterday's tragedy brought the number of bikers killed on North Yorkshire roads so far this year to 18 - including five in the last ten days.

Sergeant Nigel Atkinson, of the Tadcaster-based road traffic group, said today: "We have knocked on the doors of five houses in ten days where the next of kin have gone out on a leisure ride and not come back.

"It's devastating for the bereaved families and also causes us a lot of distress. We are in despair about the degree of motorbike fatalities. "The number of bikers coming into North Yorkshire from all points of the compass is overwhelming."

Sgt Atkinson said his remarks were general, not intended to refer to the latest fatality or any other individual death.

But he went on: "The county's rural roads are very attractive to motorcyclists on high-powered bikes.

"We have tried enforcement of speed limits and education, but it's not working. We don't know what the answer is."

Sgt Atkinson also expressed concern about the speed that some motorcyclists travel at, "screaming" round bends as if they were on a race track. He said: "I am speaking generally and there is no suggestion at this stage that yesterday's accident was in any way due to speed or bad driving.

"Whilst we were at the scene of the last three fatal motorcycle accidents, we have heard other bikers flying around on nearby roads.

"There's no doubt that the performance of these high-powered sports bikes is a major factor. The skill of the riders compared to the performance is, I suggest, also a factor."

In relation to yesterday's accident, police said they would particularly like to speak to the driver of a car towing a caravan and the driver of a blue car just behind. Anyone with information should phone 01609 783131.

Updated: 11:06 Thursday, July 31, 2003