Father finds son dying on roadside

A man who stopped to help at the scene of a road accident found that the dying victim was his teenage son. Guy Marshall, 53, who is trained in first aid, was driving to his home in Orford, Suffolk, when he saw the aftermath of an accident involving a car and a motorcycle.

It was only when he got out of his car to help that he realised his son Thomas had been riding the Suzuki GS 500cc motorcycle that was involved in the collision. Thomas, who had just turned 18, had been on a night out with friends having just finished two A-level exams.

Mr Marshall, a father of three, said: "When I arrived, people had stopped but no one was tending to him. I jumped out of my car to see if I could help and then realised it was my son. I suppose I instantly switched into lay responder mode but then was still aware it was my boy. He was moving slightly and had a pulse. Not an hour goes by that I don't think of being on that road with him."

Thomas, who worked as a lifeguard and was a keen rugby player was planning to study marine biology at Bangor University. He had bought the bike just before Easter and described it as his "pride and joy".

Mr Marshall, who also rides a motorbike, said: "We had great plans to travel to Spain and Paris together and ride back on our bikes. He had ridden a moped for two years. He was a very good rider."

His mother Wendy, 47, a practice nurse, added: "You still expect him to come through the door. It hasn't sunk in yet." A spokeswoman for Suffolk Constabulary said an investigation had been launched into the incident.