British champion Danny King has spoken of his delight after being handed a lifeline by Leicester Lions.

King, from Stukeley Meadows, in Huntingdon, had looked set to miss out on riding in the SGB Premiership – the top level of the sport in this country – after previous club Coventry pulled out only weeks before the start of the season.

But King has now been snapped up by Leicester and will make his debut for his new club tonight (Friday) in the SGB Premiership Pairs at Somerset – an event which features the top two riders from all eight top-flight clubs.

“I feared it might not happen until later in the season, if at all for me in the SGB Premiership,” said King, who will also skipper the Lions this season.

“It was great to get the call from Leicester and I can’t wait to get started.

“It would have been hard to survive financially just racing in one league, so I’m very grateful for the opportunity.”

King has already started the season in fine form for his second-tier club, Ipswich.

He scored a full 15-point maximum as they beat Sheffield in their first SGB Championship fixture of 2017 last weekend.

Another Huntingdon-based rider, Kenneth Bjerre, was also caught up in the Coventry collapse having been set to race for them.

He quickly earned a move to another SGB Premiership side, the Manchester-based Belle Vue Aces.