A MOUNTAIN biker from Pontypool was killed when he smashed into a tree on a race track he designed himself.

Ryan Bullimore, 23, was hurtling down a steep hillside when he lost control and fell headfirst from his bike on Tuesday.

Another rider found him but by the time paramedics reached the isolated forestry track it was too late.

His heartbroken father Jason Bullimore, 53, said: “You have a golden hour in these situations and that hour had gone. My lovely son died.

“I feel so sorry for the 17-year-old lad who found him. 

“He spent 58 minutes on a 999 call until an ambulance arrived.” 

Mr Bullimore was on his last ride of the night at 8.30pm when he fell at high speed. 

He was wearing a new crash helmet which was taken away by police for examination. 

His father said: “He called me at 8.30pm to say he was having another run - I was getting concerned about an hour later when I hadn’t heard from him. 

“One of his friends rang me to say there had been an accident and there were three ambulances up at the bike trail.” 

The father-of-three said the gates to the park were padlocked which delayed the emergency services reaching his stricken son. 

He said: “He was in a terrible mess when they got to him. 

“He had hit a tree but we are waiting for the post mortem results, it was either a head injury or a ruptured artery. 

“I had seen him grow up into a wonderful human being. I was so proud of him.”

Mr Bullimore, a kitchen fitter, used pick axes and shovels to make the bike trail in a forestry near his home in Griffithstown, Pontypool. 

He and his pals kept it a secret but the venue was leaked on social media and some of the country’s top riders started turning up. 

When the local council and Forestry Commission arrived the bikers feared it would be closed down. 

But officials were impressed and gave the go-ahead for the Tirpentwys Mountain Bike Trail to become officially recognised. 

His father said: “We had a world champion turn up to ride there and members of the World Cup squad. 

“Eight months from now Ryan hoped to leave his job and run the bike trail as a business. 

“It was his passion, he wouldn’t have had to work ever again.” 

Mr Bullimore suffered a serious spinal injury in a similar accident three years ago and when he was 17 he posted a Youtube video titled “my good crash” showing him hitting a tree during a race. 

A close friend and mountain biking enthusiast said: “Everyone is in shock - Ryan was such a lovely lad. 

“He knew the trails like the back of his hand which makes it harder to take for his family and friends.”

Orange safety netting was put up at the bike trails earlier this year to slow riders down. 

His friend said: “The trails snake in and out of woodland which is where the accident happened. 

“It is very steep and you can get up to some real speeds if you have the experience and nerve.” 

Mr Bullimore’s mother Sheila, brother Louis, 26, sister Aleesha, 17, and girlfriend Ceri Edmunds, 23, were said to be “devastated”. 

An online fundraising page has been set up to give Mr Bullimore “the send off he deserves”. 

It says: “Many of us knew Ryan as a happy, energetic young man, always up for a laugh. 

“He was very selfless, spending all his spare time to help create something that didn’t just make him happy, it brought smiles

to many people.” 

Gwent Police confirmed they were called to the trails after a report of a serious accident in forestry near Pontypool. 

Ryan’s family plan to scatter his ashes over the mountain biking park he created.