TWO Wiltshire Police officers who were following a motorcyclist when he crashed into a barrier on an M4 slip road and died, were not in pursuit, the Independent Police Complaints Commission has ruled.

Herbert Washington, 56, had earlier passed the officers at 95 mph as they did speed checks from a marked car on an observation ramp between junctions 15 and 16 on March 7 last year.

IPCC deputy chairman Rachel Cerfontyne said: "It was important that we independently investigated this case to establish what happened in these very sad circumstances. The investigation was greatly assisted by in car cameras which enabled us to track the movement of the officers, the speed at which they were travelling and the situation they encountered on the M4.

"It is important that this data is available in these situations as it allows us, and the wider public, to see exactly what happened and when.”

The IPCC also examined evidence from the two police officers r, the ambulance staff who were at the scene, CCTV footage from motorway cameras, collision reports, and independent witnesses who responded to an IPCC appeal.

It concluded that the officers had not been in pursuit and were too far behind Mr Washington to signal him to stop. It did not identify any evidence of criminal behaviour or misconduct by them.

An Inquest in Salisbury last week decided Mr Washington’s death was accidental.