Leigh Lanham, the Ipswich-based former Witch, has had his speedway world turned upside down at the 11th hour.

Leigh Lanham, the Ipswich-based former Witch, has had his speedway world turned upside down at the 11th hour.

Signed and ready to race for a third season at Newport, Lanham and his Wasps team-mates were left shattered as the Welsh club pulled out of the Premier League over the weekend.

It has left him with no club and no income.

“I’m shattered to be honest,” Lanham said.

“Along with my sponsors, we’ve spent about �10,000 on new equipment for the season ahead. It’s what you do once you know you have a team place and are ready to start bringing back in some of your investment.

“But now, I have no income.

“I must admit I was getting a little concerned in the past few weeks, hearing things coming out of Newport, but it wasn’t until last week, everything happened.

“This is all new for me.

“I’ve always had a team place at the start of the season, wherever I’ve been racing. OK, I lost my team place at Ipswich a few seasons ago, but at the start of that season I was sorted.”

However, Lanham, who is owned by Ipswich, does have a team place open to him – at Plymouth – although the near 700-mile round trip each Friday isn’t the most appealing and he is thinking it over.

“Yes, I have a place at Plymouth offered to me and I’m grateful for that,” Lanham admitted.

“I need to think about it carefully. It’s a long drive and it’s not just about me, I have to think of my family too.

“But Plymouth need to know soon and I need to tell them my decision this week.”

Ipswich Witches director of speedway, Chris Louis, said: “We are obviously very disappointed for Leigh and we will do all we can to help him get a club.

“He is one of a couple of double-up riders at Coventry and hopefully they will give him opportunities.”

Meanwhile Louis, has reassured fans there will still be a meeting at Foxhall on March 22, the second week of the season and the date when Newport were due to visit.

“It’s all up in the air at the moment, but there will definitely be either a team meeting, or individual, on that date, I can assure fans,” Louis said.

FIREFIGHTERS were called to a fire at Queensway Meadows Stadium, home of Newport Speedway on Tuesday morning. The fire is being treated as ‘deliberate’.