Updated 12pm with victim's name

A motorcyclist who smashed into a skip on the St Paul's Bay bypass this week has died, the police have said. 

Dieter Vink, 54, was riding a Honda motorcycle on Wednesday evening when he crashed into a skip placed on the bypass' final curve leading to the Xemxija roundabout.

Police and emergency responders rushed to the scene and took him to Mater Dei Hospital for treatment. On Saturday morning, the police issued a statement to inform the public that he had died while there.

Vink was a British national who lived in Mellieħa. A hairdresser by training, he switched careers some years back and worked as a customer service specialist. 

Transport Malta, Infrastructure Malta and the St Paul's Bay local council have all said they had not issued a permit to allow the skip to be parked on the busy thoroughfare on the day of the crash.  

The skip is believed to have been placed there by a contractor carrying out works on a boundary wall in the area. 

St Paul's Bay mayor Censu Galea said the skip had also been placed on the road a few months back, and that residents nearby had complained at the time about it being a danger.