A FATHER-OF-FOUR died during what was supposed to be the final race of his amateur biking career, as his family looked on from the stands.

Stephen Porter, known to friends and family as Ste, was riding at Aintree when he was involved in a crash on his 400cc Kawasaki ZXR motorbike.

Merseyside Police are working with health and safety officers from Sefton Council on an investigation into his death.

The 42-year-old, who also had a grandson and a granddaughter, was planning on retiring from racing if he won the Aintree Motorcycle Racing Club’s Formula 400 Championship.

His widow Pam, 43, told how she was at the 1.5 mile track, which is within the Grand National Steeplechase course, with her youngest daughters Sophie, 15, and 14-year-old Holly.

Mrs Porter said: “I knew something had happened because I saw the red flag being waved, which means there has been an incident on the track. The riders come around slowly.

“ I looked out for Ste on his green bike, but he didn’t come around.

“I was waiting to see him for what seemed like an eternity.

“Then I knew it was something serious. “One of the marshals came to find me and said Ste was going to be taken to hospital and said he was in a bad way.”

Mr Porter was taken to the nearby University Hospital Aintree for treatment, but died at about 11.30am on Saturday morning.

The self-employed window fitter first got into biking about ten years ago, and it soon became a much-loved hobby.