SONS of a keen motorcyclist killed on a Suffolk road paid tribute today to the man they knew as a loving father and grandfather.William Denman, 56, of Main Road in Chelmondiston, died when his blue Honda veered off the Ipswich-bound carriageway of the A12 at Stratford St Mary and into a field.

SONS of a keen motorcyclist killed on a Suffolk road paid tribute today to the man they knew as a loving father and grandfather.

William Denman, 56, of Main Road in Chelmondiston, died when his blue Honda veered off the Ipswich-bound carriageway of the A12 at Stratford St Mary and into a field.

The tragedy happened early yesterday.

Mr Denman, who lived with his 20-year-old son Alex in Chelmondiston, was pronounced dead at the scene.

His other son, James Denman, 24, of Glemsford Road in Stowmarket, together with his brother today remembered their devoted dad, who had lived in the Suffolk village for about 17 years.

James said: "It was a terrible accident. We are just a bit numb. We are just sad that he is gone. He was a very generous bloke – too generous.

"He didn't have a very good childhood – he never knew his father.

"I think he found fatherhood difficult, but he really loved us and really loved his grandkids."

Mr Denman senior was originally from London, but moved away to work in Sudbury.

James said: "He met my mother, Jane, and they got married in Long Melford in the late 70s.

They moved to Stowmarket, where he was a coalman, and then to Semer, near Hadleigh, where he worked as a farm labourer. Then they moved to Chelmondiston, where he was a lorry driver."

His father – who was twice divorced from Jane – had not been working for the past couple of months.

James remembers him as being devoted to his grandchildren – two-year-old Jake and six-month-old Oliver.

He said: "He loved his grandchildren very much. The last time my partner Lorna saw him he was really trying to read a book to my two-year-old son.

"My little boy really wanted my dad to read to him and so my dad really tried, even though he never had a good education and found reading difficult.

Mr Denman senior was also a keen angler and motorcyclist.

James said: "He liked fishing. He used to go down to Suffolk Water Park in Bramford or to Lakeside at Onehouse.

"When he wasn't working, he used to go down nearly every day.

"He was also a big motorbike fanatic. He had started riding when he was a kid. His pride and joy was a Harley-Davidson that he used to have.

"He stopped riding when he married my mum, but when he hit 45 he started again – I suppose it must have been a mid-life crisis!"