A motorcyclist who tried to call for help on his mobile phone after hitting a telegraph pole at speed later died from his injuries, an inquest heard.

Mechanic Henry Wadley, 28, of Spingleside, Southwold, Bicester, was out on a motorcycle ride with a friend on July 13 when he lost control of his Kawasaki motorcycle on the B4494 road between Wantage and Newbury.

He was taken to the John Radcliffe hospital with major internal bleeding, a ruptured spleen, and fractures to his ribs and skull, but died later that day.

Paul Palmer, of Buckinghamshire, told Oxford Coroner's Court that he had been riding a considerable distance behind his friend and went past the scene of the accident for several miles.

He eventually turned back and found him lying on the roadside.

Dan Scouler, of Faringdon, who stopped to help at the scene, said: "He was trying to use a mobile phone so I said I would call an ambulance. He was panicking a bit and saying he couldn't breathe."

Accident investigator PC Geoffrey Chambers said Mr Wadley had braked before he approached a left-hand bend near the Chaddleworth and Woolley junction.

The road surface was uneven and damaged following another motorcycle accident.

Pc Chambers said the bright sunny conditions combined with shadows cast by the trees lining the road would have affected visibility.

He said: "It would take time for the vision to adjust in the dark. These one or two seconds of adjustment have resulted in these tragic consequences."

Oxford Coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a verdict of accidental death.