An 18-year-old Oxford bank worker was killed when he lost control of his motorbike and crashed into a concrete bollard, an inquest heard.

Nigerian-born Ose Obhiozele was overtaking a BMW driven by a friend on Between Towns Road, Cowley, when he hit a kerb on a bend near the Templars Square shopping centre.

Mr Obhiozele, of Rosamund Road, Wolvercote, was thrown from his Aprilia 125cc motorbike when it hit the bollard at more than 40mph. The bike skidded 21 metres into a wall before rebounding back a further 19 metres.

Passer-by David Barton, of Oxford Road, Kidlington, told Oxford Coroner's Court on October 23 he had thought the car and the motorbike were racing each other shortly before the accident at around 6.30pm on November 14.

He said: "They both seemed to be going quite fast and they gave the impression they were racing."

Mr Obhiozele's friend Salaheldin Tatanaki, the driver of the silver BMW and his passenger Karim Khimji, of Brookes Campus, Wheatley, both told the court they had not been racing with the motorbike.

Mr Tatanaki said the bike sounded fast because it was very loud.

He said: "He was overtaking me on the inside. He swerved to the left, the tyre hit the pavement and slipped over.

"He got bounced off to the right and his bike went all the way down. I stopped right next to where he fell which indicates we weren't going fast, we weren't racing.

Mr Obhiozele, who worked at the city centre branch of Lloyds Bank, was taken to the John Radcliffe hospital with multiple injuries, including serious head and chest injuries, and died the following day.

Oxford Coroner Nicholas Gardiner recorded a verdict of accidental death.