The Deputy High Bailiff has dismissed a case against the organisers of the Manx Motorcycle Club, in which it was accused of failing to display a red flag on a rope across a closed road.

Alistair Montgomery accepted the view of defence advocate Dawn Jones that there was no case to answer because the relevant Act required proof the MMC had been strictly liable for what happened. .

However, he added there should have been a flag, and described the incident as “an accident waiting to happen”.

The charge followed an incident last August, in which a visiting motorcyclist lost his life when he collided with the rope, which was placed across Peel Road, near Douglas fire station.

Mrs Jones had argued there was a requirement for the prosecution to show intentional negligence on the part of the Manx Motorcycle Club.

She said this hadn’t happened and that responsibility for placing a closure barrier across the road, in any form, had been delegated to the Department of Transport which, she said, was “best equipped” to carry out the task.

Mrs Jones said the department only had to provide what it considered a suitable barrier, but the prosecution countered by saying that because there was a rope, there should have been a flag as well.

Mr Montgomery accepted the defence put forward by Mrs. Jones, but further criticised the DoT, saying the reason there was no flag was ignorance of the regulations.

He said only one senior official seemed to know of the requirement, and drew attention to an incident two days before the man died, in which a car had been driven into the rope.

He said the DoT didn’t have a red flag, but suggested that, after this warning, somebody should have tied a red scarf or shirt to the rope until one was found.