A motocross fanatic died the night before a race after winds blew poisonous gas onto him while he slept.

Richard Phillips, 38, was camping when a generator pumped deadly levels of carbon monoxide into his tent.

The father-of-two from Worthing suffered carbon monoxide poisoning and died after he went to bed early to prepare for the King of the Castle motocross meeting near Bath.

His widow Piney(CORR) Phillips, 39, of Broadwater Road, Worthing, said it had been her husband's goal to take part in the race.

Mr Phillips had gone back to his tent early on September 17 to get a good night's sleep and had turned on the generator, which was powering a heater and charging his mobile phone.

A friend who was sharing the four-man tent with Mr Phillips survived because the generator was turned off, meaning the level of carbon monoxide in the tent had dropped by the time he went to bed.

Mrs Phillips, a teaching assistant, said her carpet fitter husband had spent a long time building his bike for the competition.

She said: “He knew so many people through motocross. They had all been chatting to old friends.

“Everyone said he was in good spirits and was in his element.”

She thanked her close friends who she said had been a “tremendous support” to her and their two sons, Lewis, 16, and Elliot, 11, since her husband's death.

Mrs Phillips said: “They have lost their hero, there's no other word for it. They so looked up to him.

“We are trying to build bridges to carry on but with him missing it is a very difficult thing to do.”

More than 300 mourners attended Mr Phillips' funeral at Worthing Crematorium, in Findon, and a crash helmet was placed on his coffin.

Mrs Phillips said: “He was just fabulous. Everybody looked up to him. He did so much to help people.

“He was an inspiration to a lot of people. He was a good friend, a fabulous husband, a perfect father. He really was a wonderful man.”

At an inquest in Wells, East Somerset Coroner Tony Williams recorded a verdict of accidental death and said an unfortunate chain of events, including the strong wind blowing in the wrong direction, had caused the gas to build up inside the tent, causing Mr Phillips' death.