INJURED speedway rider Darryl Ritchings is getting back in the saddle in a bid to say thank you to the doctors who helped him recover from a brain injury.

The youngster was involved in a heavy crash against Coventry on April 3, suffering bruising on his brain, which saw him quickly transferred from Great Western Hospital to the John Radcliffe in Oxford where there is a specialist head injury unit.

The reserve was sedated for close to a fortnight as doctors waited for the swelling to go down before bringing him round, at which point Ritchings shocked them with the speed of his return to full health.

Ritchings and members of his family are now planning to ride from the scene of his crash to the Oxford hospital and back again in September, raising money for the unit in the process, and has invited anyone interested to join him.

“We haven’t quite set a date yet but it’s going to happen in September, which is pretty exciting,” he said.

“Loads of people have been in touch saying they want to do it, and I’m riding from the Abbey Stadium to Oxford and then back from the John Radcliffe to the Abbey Stadium again.

“I’ve had loads of messages on Facebook and it’s great to have had so good a response because it’s a really good cause.

“They took such good care for me while I was there and I really want to pay them back in some way, just a little way like this ride is.”

“Anyone can join me and it’s the more the merrier, anyone’s welcome.

“I haven’t done that sort of distance but I did do a fair bit of training in the winter when I was trying to get in the Swindon team so it should be okay.

“I can’t really do much at the moment because of my broken ankle, but I’m doing a few bits on my bike in the workshop and hopefully I will be able to do a bit more soon.”

Anyone interested in taking part in the ride to and from Oxford can contact Darryl on 07718 256874.