ARTHUR and Linda Allen have finally turned out the light in their son's bedroom for the first time since he was killed in a motorcycle accident 19 months ago.

David, 16, left the light on in his room when he went out on his moped, before he crashed into a barrier across a cyclepath next to the Eastern Bypass at Littlemore.

Mr and Mrs Allen had not been able to bring themselves to turn out the bulb until Oxfordshire coroner Nicholas Gardiner gave them some degree of closure last Thursday as he recorded a verdict of accidental death.

Mrs Allen said after the inquest: "We kept it on since he died because we found it too hard to switch it off. Now it is time to turn it off."

David, of Spencer Crescent, Rose Hill, died on Saturday, November 20, after the crash.

The inquest was told that David was riding along the cycle path in the direction of Littlemore at around 10pm after taking a trip to Tesco in Cowley.

Witness Maykel Galli said he was about 20 metres past the barrier when he heard a loud noise behind him and saw the bike skidding along Long Lane.

Paramedics tried desperately to save David but he was pronounced dead at the John Radcliffe Hospital.

Pathologist Dr David Davies concluded that he died of a skull fracture and brain damage.

PC Geoffrey Chambers, of Thames Valley's collision investigation unit, said the moped's front tyre was over inflated and the rear one was underinflated.

He also found the rear brake was not working but he could not explain why David, who he said was travelling at between 28mph and 34mph at the time of the crash, had failed to go through the 1.3m-wide opening for cyclists next to the barrier.

However, Mr Allen disputed Pc Chambers' conclusion that the barrier could be clearly seen from 75 metres away.

He said: "It was a bit drizzly at the time and coming towards Littlemore you cannot see the gate very clearly at all. The street light near to the barrier is hidden by a tree."

Mr and Mrs Allen fear there will be another tragedy on the cycle way if the barrier is not removed.

Mr Allen said: "There was nothing to warn that the barrier is there.

"Yes, it is supposed to be a cycle path, but I used to ride a moped along there regularly to work because I nearly got knocked off riding on the Eastern Bypass. It is either ride on the cycle path or get killed."

Mr and Mrs Allen, their five children and family friends want to see the barrier, which signals the end of the cycle path and the start of Long Lane in Littlemore removed and replaced by bollards.

Mrs Allen added: "If it stops somebody else dying it will be worth it."

The couple are planning to run a moped rally from Scotland to Oxford to raise money for The Trauma Unit at the John Radcliffe hospital.