Motorbike rider killed in Spain crash

Talented rider Gary Peplow, of Coniston Way, Bewdley, was on a biking holiday with friends when he hit a crash barrier.

The circumstances of his death remain unknown but his body has now been flown back to the UK.

Mr Peplow's partner Isabel Clarke said motorbikes had been a massive part of his life for many years and he died doing something he loved.

She said her life would be much quieter without 'charismatic' Mr Peplow around.

"You always knew when he was about," Miss Clarke said.

"When he got home in his bike he would always rev up outside and then he'd burst through the door."

Mr Peplow, who worked at Handy Insurance Services in Stourport until 2012, was killed in a bike accident a decade after his brother Dean's death in a motorbike crash.

He previously worked at a garage and an insurance firm in Tipton.

Experienced rider Mr Peplow,aged 50 who was known by his friends as Gaz, died on a tour with friends in Spain after he lost control of his bike and drifted into a crash barrier.

Miss Clarke, who is the mum of Mr Peplow's son James, five, said: "Gary was a character. He was larger than life.

"Everybody knew him in Bewdley and further afield.

"He was one of those people who would walk into a room and was always confident - he was always in the middle of anything that was lively and fun.

"But in his professional life he was very successful and he ran his own business for many years."

Mr Peplow, of Coniston Way, had been riding from Porto to Segovia as part of a group of five when the crash occurred.

Miss Clarke, aged 43, first met Mr Peplow when she was 16 years and they had been a couple for the last six years.

She said no-one knew what had caused the accident.

"It was as if he had blacked out or fallen asleep on the bike and it drifted into the barriers," she said.

"His death was an absolute tragedy.

"But we haven't really got any idea about what happened and we might never know."

Mr Peplow's body was repatriated to the UK on Tuesday. The crash occurred on August 23.

Mr Peplow's funeral will take place at the Church of St Peter and St Paul in Rock, where his parents Graham and Noreen were married, his brother is buried and where James was christened.

The service at 11am on September 22 will be conducted by Miss Clarke' sister-in-law, Rev Georgina Byrne. Donations will be made to bike-related charities.