The family of a young Hackney man who died in a motorbike crash while being followed by police are still searching for answers after a coroner found the officer did nothing wrong.

Dad-of-one Ashley Dacosta-Forde, of Amhurst Road, was riding his motorbike on the M11 when he crashed on a slip road and died on July 3 last year.

A Met officer was following him at 100mph with his blue lights on after Ashley rode past at high speed, and his family has always maintained this contributed to the fatal collision.

“The family believes Ashley would have been aware that he was being followed by the police,” they said in a statement. “This is a matter of grave concern.”

But a jury inquest in Chelmsford last week returned a narrative verdict, with assistant coroner Tina Harrington saying simply that Ashley hit the central reservation at high speed.

It came after the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found the officer had no case to answer as Ashley was going so fast he wouldn’t have known he was being chased.

His family don’t accept that, and say they will carry on fighting for “accountability”.

“The family are devastated by their loss,” they said, “and extremely disappointed by the jury’s conclusion.”

The 24-year-old, a bus driver who worked on the 106, was on his way to a motorbike training course when he died.

One family member told the Gazette: “He was a lovely guy, a great father and great brother and great family man. His life was taken wrongly and we just want justice.”

Another added: “We just want to know what has actually gone on.”

An IPCC spokesman said: “The investigation found there was not a pursuit of Mr Forde [meaning Ashley did not know he was being followed] and the distance between the police vehicle and Mr Forde meant that the actions of the officer did not cause or contribute to the collision.

“Therefore no misconduct issues were identified. The IPCC will look to publish its report now that the inquest has finished.”

Mrs Harrington said in her verdict: “While travelling at excessive speed on the exit slip road, Ashley Dacosta-Forde collided with the concrete central reservation and suffered high energy blunt trauma which caused his death.”

Essex County Council originally told the Gazette the coroner was Caroline Beasley-Murray. We have now amended this page to show the correct coroner’s name.