A grieving father has spoken of his pride to see young riders racing for a trophy named in his son's honour.

Family, friends and the wider biking community were left mourning the loss of Jack Whichello when the young rider of Livingstone Road, Gillingham, died in a crash last year aged just 20.

And Jack remained foremost in their minds during a special race day held in his honour at the Lydd Speedway Club Championships on Saturday.

For dad Paul, the best moment of the day - even though he won two races himself - was watching the under-15s riders compete for the inaugural Jack Whichello Memorial Shield race, which is set to be contested for years to come.

Winner Archie Wareham was all smiles as he picked up the trophy following a hard fought race, while there were also prizes for Jamie Etherington in second place, Harry Cunningham in third, and William Cairns in fourth.

Other races throughout the day saw riders wearing the new "Flying with Whichello" logo on their shirts and bikes, while Luke Barnes of Weymouth Wildcats had the honour or wearing Jack's racing bib, and won all his races bar one, topping his group.

Mr Whichello said the day was a fitting memorial to his son, with a tribute to him in the race programme, a minutes' silence, and a speech from club owner Malcolm Smith.

"All day people would come up and speak to us about Jack," said Paul. "Everyone went home knowing who Jack was. It was nice - it was very humbling. When people you don't know put themselves out for you it just puts some niceness back in the world - there's so much hatred in the word but you realise that some people genuinely care."

And he said the day was a reminder of how popular Jack was.

"He never saw race or religion -he just saw people and if he liked the person it didn't matter what they believed, he was their friend. In his circle of friends he had proper bikers, but lots of different people - one of his friends went to Africa doing gospel work.

"We never realised how popular he was until after he passed away - his funeral was absolutely huge."

Paul himself now sees racing as a form of release, and a way of dealing with grief.

"It hasn't stopped me racing", he added. "For me racing has been a form of escapism because when you're out there you're thinking of nothing else, and it gives you a couple of minutes of not thinking about anything."

"I know Jack would be proud of how I've progressed. The last time Jack saw me ride I was awarded 'Speedway rider of the year' at Iwade Speedway Club and I was presented with a shield."

He thanked Teng Tools and Bandit Clothing for providing prizes, along with track owner Malcolm Smith and Paul Hubbard who organised the day.