St Neots sprinter Joe Bradbury has spoken of his frustration after seeing Eastern Indoor Championships glory snatched away by injury.

The 20-year-old was in the process of speeding to the 200m title at Lee Valley on Sunday when a pulled hamstring forced him out of the final.

“I was absolutely gutted,” admitted Bradbury, who competes for the Bedford & County club.

“I was leading coming off the bend and felt I had the race in my pocket.

“It would have been great to end my indoor season with a big victory, but it wasn’t to be.

“There were still positives to take though. I was pleased with my time in my heat and was going much faster in the final.”

Bradbury scorched to victory in his heat by clocking the quickest time of any competitor despite easing up towards the finish line.

That ensured he was installed as favourite for the final and that race was also going to plan until injury stopped him in his tracks at half-distance. Now he hopes to make a quick return to fitness as he prepares for a big season outdoors.

Bradbury added: “Hopefully I will only need to rest the injury for a couple of weeks before I can get back into training.

“This is an important season for me as there is the England Championships and European trials in June and then the Olympic trials later in the year.”

There was another success at Lee Valley on Sunday courtesy of Siobhan Skinner. The Hunts AC member ran a personal best of 2:26.07 to collect the silver medal in the Senior Women’s 800m race.