Chris Burrell

A motorcyclist “pulling a wheelie” on a Shropshire road seconds before he lost control and died in a crash, is featured on a new police safety film.

The five-minute film, produced by West Mercia Police with permission from the victim’s family, is to be shown to thousands of motorcyclists who attend a weekly rally in north Shropshire.

Chris Burrell, 44, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was killed last June when he crashed into an oncoming car on the A41 at Tern Hill, near Market Drayton, while performing a wheelie stunt in front of hundreds of people.

The father-of-two was a regular at the Thursday night meets at the Stormy Petrel pub in Tern Hill.

The police film, titled Dying for a Ride?, also features an emotional plea from his daughters urging other riders not to make the same mistake as their father.

It will be shown outside the Stormy Petrel for the first time on Thursday and will continue to be screened at the meets throughout the summer.

It was their second family tragedy within a year to hit Alexe Millward, 25, and her sister Terri, 24, after their mother Karen died just 10 months earlier, aged 42, from a long-term illness.

The sisters, who said their father was a member of RoSPA, had no hesitation in allowing CCTV camera footage showing Mr Burrell rearing up on the back wheel of his motorcycle in front of 500 spectators, to be used in the police film.

It shows him maintaining the wheelie for several seconds before losing control and crashing into a car on the opposite side of the main road.

Mr Burrell’s two-week-old Suzuki GSX-R 1000 bike, which was severely damaged in the impact, will also be displayed by police at the pub meets throughout the summer, to help reinforce the film’s safety messages.

Terri said it was completely out of character for their father to pull wheelies or other dangerous manoeuvres, and said: “He was a real biking enthusiast and safety was uppermost in his mind.”

Alexe added: “We just want to urge other motorcyclists not to take chances – it’s not worth it.”

The film is narrated by local bike racer Ben Wylie, the 2007/8 British Supersport rider, who is also backing the call for safe biking on the roads.

By Deborah Collins