Tens of thousands of bikers head for Hastings on the bank holiday

The crashes came on a day when thousands of bikers converged on Hastings as part of a May Bank Holiday tradition going back decades.

The fatal crash happened on the A21 at its junction with the A28 on the outskirts of Hastings, while the other crash was on the A265 at Etchingham.

More than 20,000 bikers were expected in Hastings for the annual gathering.

Caravan appeal

Sussex Police said the motorcyclist who died was a 41-year-old local man riding a Honda bike.

They said he collided with a road sign on the A21 Ebdens Hill at 1542 BST and police wanted to hear from witnesses, particularly the driver of a car towing a caravan heading north at the time.

Police said the man hurt in the crash in Etchingham was from Horley in Surrey and was flown to the Conquest Hospital in Hastings by police helicopter, suffering life-threatening injuries.

The tradition of bikers visiting Hastings started decades ago when a motorcycle club held a bank holiday trip to the town, chosen because of its location at the end of the A21, considered a good road to ride down.

Profitable day

The visiting motorcyclists park in the Pelham Place car park on the town's seafront, chat to their fellow bikers and admire each other's vehicles with some of them enjoying a quick drink in one of the seafront pubs.

The bikers are welcome visitors, with many of the town's traders saying their presence makes the day one of the most profitable of the year.

Cafe owner Bekir Keyf said: "May Day is a very good day for the town - I've been here 18 years and it's always the best day."

Hastings also hosts the Jack in the Green festival over the weekend - one of the UK's largest annual gatherings of morris dancers, with a big parade through the town.