A YOUNG motorcyclist was left to die by his friends after he smashed into a sports car while overtaking on the wrong side of the road.

Ajay De Silva, 23, of Primrose Road, South Woodford, was speeding on his Suzuki motorbike with four friends also on bikes, when he collided with the left side of an Audi convertable on August 28 last year.

At an inquest at Walthamstow Coroner's Court on Tuesday (April 7), emotional friends and family heard how Mr De Silva was flung 15 meters from his bike a split second before his friend also rammed into the back of the car and was sent flying over the roof.

But while the self-employed mechanic lay with severe injuries and blood seeping out of his helmet, his friend, who has since been jailed for 12 months, got back on his motorcycle and sped off with the rest of the group.

Yasmin Hayns, who was travelling in the passenger seat of the Audi as it prepared to turn left into the Old Hall Tavern car park, in Waltham Way, Chigford, said: "I was sitting there and I just heard a really loud noise and then the motorbike hit in my side of the car.

"I was in shock and then one second after another one hit the back of the car."

She added: "I got out and spoke to the second rider and asked if he was okay.

"He said he'd hurt his leg and then he ripped the number plate off the back of his bike and rode off.

"I didn't see any of them stop."

Miss Hayns's boyfriend Sharif Moursi, who was driving the car, addressed Mr De Silva's family in the court.

He said: "I couldn't cope with it and my stomach was turning when I saw the blood coming out of the helmet."

He added: "There isn't a day that goes by that I don't think of him.

"The last year of my life hasn't been the same.

"I stopped eating and was walking around like a zombie."

Police in court confirmed that Mr Moursi, whose car was said to have been "swamped" by the bikes, could not have prevented the crash, and Assistant Deputy Coroner Dr Fiona Wilcox agreed the death was an accident.

After the inquest, Mr De Silva's mother Sunita Hassan said she was happy with the verdict, but added that she was still deeply hurt by the actions of the other bikers.

She said: "We didn't have any doubt that it was an accident but they were supposed to be his friends and they left him there so they couldn't have been."

Last year Mr De Silva's brothers opened youth centre Ajay's Spot in George Lane, South Woodford, in memory of the former Woodbridge High School student.