British champion and Ipswich Witches skipper Danny King has been left ‘hugely disappointed’ after learning Premiership side Coventry Bees won’t be coming to the tapes this season.

The Brandon club will not be competing in 2017, despite King being earmarked for a place in the side, as he doubled up with the Witches.

It now leaves the 30-year-old with racing for the Suffolk side in the Championship as his only source of income and the likelihood of finding another Premiership club before the start of the season, limited.

“I’m hugely disappointed, of course I am,” King said.

“It’s been an up and down winter for Coventry. One minute we look ok and then we are set to have eight meetings at Leicester until Brandon is sorted, then the plug is pulled.

“To say it is frustrating is an understatement. I’ve got five bikes ready to go and we’ve worked hard to get things ready for the season.

“I had hope for Coventry racing when the stock car fixtures were announced recently at the track, but that’s all gone too now, I gather.”

While King, who has seen plenty during his 15 years in the sport, knows he will have to bide his time to wait for a team spot in the Premiership to come up, the fact he learned from Twitter of the Bees’ demise, doesn’t sit well with him.

“The first I heard of Coventry not racing next season was when a mate of mine sent me a screenshot of a tweet,” King said.

“I dare say the Coventry management were supposed to tell me before it went public, but they didn’t.

“All my focus is on Ipswich and I’ll wait and see what happens.”

The British Speedway Promoters’ Association issued a statement saying: “With deep regret the British Speedway Promoters’ Association announce Coventry Bees will not be competing in the 2017 SGB Premiership and their licence has been put on ice.

“Due to well documented issues with their former Brandon Stadium home, the Bees only have an agreement in place to run a handful of meetings at Leicester.

“The club, therefore, are not in a position to satisfy the Association that they can fulfil a full season of league racing with no guarantee of returning to Brandon.”