AN inquest has been formally opened into the death of a Penrith man who died in a road traffic tragedy on the A686 near Alston.

Relatives of 55-year-old Martin Davidson, of Castletown Drive, released moving tributes in the aftermath of a crash involving his motorbike which was reported to police at around 4.35pm on Saturday, July 30.

His sister, Sandra, called him “a huge rock in our family”, describing also his “kind and generous heart, wicked sense of humour and his huge cheeky grin”.

Mr Davidson’s daughter, Laura, said he was an “absolute legend”, and the “best dad, brother, uncle, godfather and friend we could've ever wished for”.

As an inquest was opened yesterday (Thursday) into his death, Ms Margaret Taylor, an assistant coroner for Cumbria, noted he had been an HGV driver by occupation.

Outlining some brief circumstances about the incident, Ms Taylor said the collision location was given as the A686, near an access road to “Moscow Clarghyll, Alston”.

“A group of four motorcyclists have been travelling from Newcastle, heading west on the A686 towards Alston with a final destination of Penrith,” said Ms Taylor.

They were split into two pairs. Mr Davidson, a lead rider of the front two, had “conducted an overtake of a white Mercedes saloon”. “Upon completion of the overtake,” Ms Taylor stated, he had “exited the road to the right before colliding with a small stone wall.”

Ms Taylor concluded: “This matter will now be adjourned as further enquiries need to take place, and will be listed for a full investigation on January 10 next year.”

In a public appeal after the tragedy, a Cumbria police spokesman asked anyone with information about the incident to report it online at www.cumbria.police.uk/report-it quoting incident number 192 of 30th July 2022; or phone 101.