A FATHER-of-three from Chudleigh Knighton, who had a passion for motorbikes, has been killed in a road accident.

Philip Soper, 40, of Knights Mead, was airlifted to the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital shortly after his Aprilia 1100 racing bike was in collision with a Nissan X trail on the A382 on Thursday night last week. He sustained serious leg and other injuries and died early on Friday. His grief-stricken widow, Caroline, and work colleagues have being paying tribute to his generous and unselfish nature.

Mrs Soper, 40, clearly shocked and struggling to come to terms with her loss, said: 'He was a beautiful man. 'We've been together since we were 14. We met at Kingsbridge Comprehensive School and have been together ever since. I'm just so glad we had 26 years together.'

The couple married when they were 23, and Mr Soper joined the RAF shortly after. In the next 12 years they made their home in Germany, Gibraltar, and at RAF Brize Norton and RAF Lyneham. Latterly, he was deployed in the Joint Air Transport Evaluation Unit at Brize Norton, a specialist logistical unit responsible for transporting military equipment all over the world. As senior aircraftsman, he was frequently often involved in special operations. His work took him to Bosnia, the Falklands, Kuwait, Brunei, Australia, the Maldives, Hawaii, Fiji, the US and many other places.

RAF colleague Sgt Charlie Warden, who is godfather to the couple's oldest child, Charlie, aged 10, described Mr Soper as 'a consummate professional who was meticulous in his work'.

Mr Soper left the RAF five years ago, shortly before the birth of their third child, Ellie. Their middle child, Eddie, is aged eight. Mrs Soper said that he was a devoted father, who liked to create happy memories for his children.

She recalled the time he bought blue wigs for the children to wear at a Elton John concert in Powderham and pretended to radio the RAF for a Chinook helicopter to collect them when they got stuck in a traffic jam afterwards. On leaving the RAF, he worked for Kay Transport, at Heathfield. Depot manager Bob Heath said: 'He was primarily an HGV driver, but he was very much more than that.

'He would do anything for anyone, regardless of how much pressure he was under himself. He was one of the best.'

Mr Soper had a passion for motor cycles, but reserved his Aprilia 1100 for race track riding and fine weather. 'He was even talking about taking it off the road completely and only doing track days, because he was worried something like this would happen,' said Mr Heath.

Mr Soper renewed his insurance a few days before the accident and sent a text to his wife after work, to say he was going for a ride. 'He was such an unselfish guy. This was one of the things he did for himself – have a ride in the sun once a week,' said Mr Heath. The collision occurred at 6.26pm on the A382 along his favourite stretch between Bovey Tracey and Moretonhampstead, near the East Wrey Barton Hotel. The Nissan driver was uninjured, but was treated for shock. The road was closed afterwards to allow collision investigators to examine the scene and recover the vehicles. Police have interviewed one witness and are appealing for other witnesses to come forward. An inquest was opened and adjourned on Tuesday. The funeral will take place on Friday, May 12, at 2.30pm at Holy Trinity Church, Salcombe, where the couple were married and each of their three children were christened. Family flowers only are requested. Donations in aid of Chudleigh Knighton and Salcombe pre-schools can be made through Savill Funeral Services, The Moorland, Lower Union Street, Kingsbridge.