TRIBUTES have been paid to a motorcyclist who died in a Boxing Day crash near Bishop Auckland.
The family of Carl Pepper say they are heartbroken at their loss.
The 26-year-old, from Bishop Auckland, died after his red Suzuki 600cc motorcycle crashed on South Church Industrial Estate, close to the junction with the A688.
Emergency services were alerted at around 2.15am and despite the efforts of police and ambulance service crews, Mr Pepper was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
His family have released a statement paying tribute to their “beloved son”.
They said: “Our beloved son Carl Pepper will be sadly missed by his parents Kevin and Trudy, stepparents Alex Berry and Richard Reid, his sisters Lisa Marie Prince and Melanie Hubbard and his friends.
“Carl was taken from us far too soon and our hearts are broken.
“Goodnight our son. We love you and we will miss you, until we meet again”.
Accident investigators are appealing for any witnesses to the crash to get in touch as soon as possible.
Anyone with information is asked to call Durham Constabulary on 101, quoting incident number 42 of December 26.
