A HARLEY Davidson fan who quit his dream job after developing a phobia of riding motorbikes as a result of a road accident has been awarded more than £60,000 in compensation.

Stuart Conway, of Renfrew, was working as a trainee mechanic when he suffered injuries while test driving a customer’s 750cc Harley Davidson in Hillington on October 5, 2017.

The National Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh heard how he was employed by a firm called West Coast Harley Davidson at the time.

Mr Conway, 25, collided with a car being driven by Fiona Paton, with his head going through the rear passenger window and the bike landing on top of him.

He suffered whiplash and psychiatric injuries.

Mr Conway, who owns a Harley Davidson, also developed a phobia of bikes – including those made by the US firm – which persists to this day.

His lawyers launched legal action against Ms Paton and insurance firm HDI Global FE.

Lawyers for the two defenders had admitted liability, leaving only quantum to be decided by Sheriff Robert Fife.

Today, in a judgement issued by the court, Sheriff Fife ruled that Mr Conway should receive £61,252 from the two defenders.

The court heard that, after the accident, Mr Conway – who now hopes to become a photographer – found a job with a firm called Ride On Motorcycles and was responsible for cleaning and servicing bikes.

It was also stated that he went on a motorcycle ride to Tighnabruaich in April 2018.

Private investigators also carried out surveillance on him and he was seen riding bikes a short distance whilst working at Ride On.

Lawyers for the two defenders told the court that Mr Conway hadn’t mentioned the fact he was working for Ride On to experts looking into the case and this meant he had attempted to mislead the court.

They also said Mr Conway had deliberately failed to tell a doctor about the visit to Tighnabruaich and that he was either exaggerating or inventing his symptoms.

However, Sheriff Fife concluded that Mr Conway hadn’t attempted to mislead the court.

He added: “In the present case, the failure to tell experts about his employment was unexplained but, in my view, there was no deliberate misleading of the experts on his part.

“The pursuer should have been more open about where and when he was riding his own bike. The pursuer downplayed the extent of riding his own motorbike post-accident.

“However, I am not persuaded the pursuer was deliberately misleading the experts or fabricating his symptoms.”

Sheriff Fife concluded that Mr Conway should receive compensation.

He wrote: “The pursuer had and continues to have a specific phobia in riding other people’s bikes, including Harley Davidson bikes.”