Family's tribute to motorcyclist killed in Northumberland crash

Shaun O'Connell, 33, from Throckley, Tyne and Wear, died in a two-vehicle collision on the A696 close to Kirkwhelpington, near Otterburn, at around 9.10am.

His family have now paid tribute to Shaun, who was travelling with his younger brother James at the time of the incident.

They said he had just started a new job in a call centre and was actively involved in his local church, Hillsong Church, Newcastle, with his parents, Kevin and Denise. He also had an older brother called Anthony.

Today, Shaun's family said: "We are devastated. Anyone who knows Shaun will know what a loss this is. We are a motorbike family - we all love to go out on the bikes and this was just an ordinary day. Sadly everything has now changed."

Emergency services attending the scene of the crash found a blue Ford S Max motor vehicle and a red Honda CBR motorcycle had been involved in the collision.

The male driver of the motorcycle was sadly pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries and his condition is described as stable.

Enquiries into the incident are ongoing and police are continuing to appeal for witnesses to the crash and have appealed for anyone who saw it, or the vehicles involved in the lead up to the incident, to contact officers on 101 quoting log 255 25/05/17.