Yorkshire tourist, 23, dies in bike crash at Isle of Man TT

Joshua Keith Thornton, 23, passed away after the crash on Thursday which involved two other motorcyclists.

The incident is not believed to have been part of an official race and the Isle of Man Constabulary have now formally identified Joshua, who lived in Baildon with his girlfriend Mary Slack, 21.

The Isle of Man TT races attract thousands of motorsport fans who travel to the island on their own motorbikes.

A statement released by the island's police force read:-

"Mr Thornton's relatives are being supported by our specially trained officers at this extremely difficult time. They would like to say that Joshua will be deeply missed by all his family and friends, in particular his sisters Gemma and Nicole, his brother Lee, his two cousins William and Benjamin and his girlfriend Mary who he lived with.

"We are aware that there have been various news articles about Mr Thornton's death in the UK media, but I can confirm that these have taken place without the permission or authority of either Mr Thornton's family or ourselves. One of these unauthorised newspaper stories is known to have contained inaccurate information, which has in turn caused further distress to Mr Thornton's grieving family and friends. I would therefore respectfully request that no further speculation be entered into as to the circumstances of Mr Thornton's death until such time as our investigations are fully complete and a report has been provided to the Coroner of Inquests".

Joshua died at the scene and one of the other men involved suffered serious injuries. He had worked as an engineer at a firm in Shipley since starting as an apprentice in 2012.

During the TT in 2018, a man from Bingley was jailed in the Isle of Man's only prison for four weeks after running onto a closed section of road during a practice session for competitors.

James William Ford was also banned from attending the event for five years. At the same meet, another spectator from Bradford appeared in court charged with impersonating a medic.

The island's constabulary are known for their tough stance on behaviour among spectators during the annual TT races, which draw thousands of motorsport fans to the British Crown dependency in the Irish Sea every May.

In 2008, a father and son from Harrogate were killed in a motorway crash in Leicestershire while riding to the TT on a Harley Davidson they had hired. Alan Summarsell, 54, and son Gareth, 25, had booked the trip to the Isle of Man to celebrate Gareth's birthday.