A MOTORCYCLIST died in a collision with a car just outside Exeter.

Witnesses rushed to help the rider, believed to be in his fifties, who was travelling on a Harley Davidson when he was in collision with a Honda 4x4 on the B3212 at Longdown.

The crash happened at around 11.20am yesterday, close to Culver Lodge. The owner of the property, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Echo he rang for an ambulance after a horrified driver travelling on the road knocked on his door for help.

The resident, in his thirties, took a blanket from his home and placed it over the motorcyclist.

"I didn't know anything until someone came to the door and asked for help, so I rang the ambulance," he said. "It was a motorcyclist. It happened right outside our house.

"I went out and took a blanket for the poor guy. I put the blanket on him."

He added: "It does seem like an accident blackspot."

Police and the Devon Air Ambulance attended the incident. The road was closed for several hours and diversions were put in place while accident investigators examined the scene.

The driver of the Honda is not thought to have suffered any serious injuries in the crash.

Charles Eden, owner of nearby conference venue Culver House, said he believed the motorcyclist had been on a bend in the road when he was in collision with the car.

"The motorcyclist was going one way and the car was going in the other direction, but I'm not certain if it was a head-on collision or not," he said.

"There was another accident in the same spot just before Christmas.

"We were returning from Exeter when we saw the road was closed. We had to abandon our car and walk the rest of the way, escorted by the police."

The motorcyclist was heading towards Dunsford while the Honda was travelling on the road to Exeter.

Parish councillor Vicky Kernick, who lives in Vicarage Lane, Longdown, described the incident as "very sad".

A Devon & Cornwall Police spokesman said: "Police dealt with a fatal collision on the B3212 at Longdown, near Exeter. Police were called to the scene of a collision between a car and motorcycle at around 11.20am.

"Paramedics and the Devon Air Ambulance were at the scene treating the motorcycle rider. The driver of the car, a Honda, is thought to be unharmed."