Thailand holiday biking tragedy

Louis Sims, 44, who divided his time between Worthing and southern Ireland, had visited Thailand on long winter holidays with friends for the past 10 years.

Because the accident happened in Thailand, the circumstances surrounding the crash are not yet known.

Louis was an avid motorcycle enthusiast and built his own motorbikes. He used to spend four winter months each year in Thailand with friends, hiring different Thai motorcyles and buying bike parts to bring back to the UK.

His father, Robin Sims, 72, from Midhurst, said: "All we know at the moment is he apparently swerved to avoid something.

"Louis was a great son, and he loved riding real bikers' bikes and being in Thailand."

Louis was a self-employed floor fitter and had worked throughout the UK.

He laid the flooring at the Holmbush branch of Marks and Spencer in Shoreham.

Recently, Louis got a job working for an Irish flooring company, so would travel between Worthing and southern parts of Ireland.

Louis' friend Arthur Greg said: "The bikes Louis built were so good they were featured in the Streetfighters bikers magazine in the 1990s.

"Motorbikes were his life. But he also enjoyed converting an old bus into a mobile home which he lived in for a while."

Louis' funeral will be held at Easebourne Parish Church, near Midhurst, on Wednesday, February 20, at 2.30pm.

Louis featured in the Herald in January, 2005, after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand, when he took tarpaulins over to help with the clear-up operation.