A SPEEDWAY fan has vowed to be back cheering on the Scunthorpe Scorpions in their next meeting just days after being hit by a flying bike.

Mick Sneesby, 62, of Vicarage Lane, Scawby, was one of two spectators to be injured after visiting Stoke rider Taylor Poole lost control of his bike during the meeting, at the Eddie Wright Raceway, on Normanby Road, Scunthorpe.

The machine flew off the track and over safety fencing before hitting Mr Sneesby and another spectator, who had travelled from Hull.

Mr Sneesby was taken to hospital but escaped with a bruised hip and legs. And despite the experience, he said he would be back at the track to watch the Scorpions take on Newcastle this Friday.

He said: "It is just one of those things that happened. I'm okay, just a bit battered and bruised and I will be there on Friday night, all being well.

"It is just one of those things that happen out of the blue.

"I have been going for years and that is the first time I have seen a bike come over like that.

"It was a freak accident. I just didn't see the bike coming."

Mr Sneesby said the drama played out during the 10th heat of Friday's meeting.

He said: "It was the first and second bend from the start. Taylor Poole came deep around the first and second bends, hit the deep shale and slid off.

"Obviously, we were watching the first, second and third riders go past."

"I saw something out of the corner of my eye and it was the speedway bike coming over the air fence.

"I just couldn't get out of the way quick enough.

"It hit me and my mate, Joe. He came off worse than I did.

"I went to hospital and had x-rays around my hips and I had a lump as big as a rugby ball.

"It is starting to go down but it is all different colours."

The other injured spectator suffered facial injuries and required total of 30 stitches.

Mr Sneesby said despite the accident, his enthusiasm for the sport would not be dampened.

He said: "It is not going to put me off going back to speedway.

"I started following the Scunthorpe Saints when they used to be at Quibell Park and then when it went to Ashby Ville.

"We hadn't had speedway in Scunthorpe for 20 years and then it started back up at the Eddie Wright Raceway, so I started going again.

"It is a brilliant sport but doing 60mph in less than two seconds with no brakes, you have got to be mad to do it."

Mr Sneesby, who travels all over the country to watch speedway, defended the safety of the Scunthorpe track.

He said: "There is nothing else they could do.

"I think it is the safest ground of wherever I go.

"We do away meetings as well and we do have an air fence for riders but some of the tracks we go to don't have an air fence.

"It was just a freak accident."

North Lincolnshire Council is investigating the accident.

A council spokesman said: "We started investigating yesterday morning.

"It's very early days in the investigation.

"We are in the process of gathering information and everybody is co-operating with us."

Scorpions promoter, Rob Godfrey, said he was confident Friday's meeting would go ahead after speaking with health and safety officials.

He said: "They seemed to accept that what happened last Friday was a freak accident."