Kent Kings have announced the signing of Cheshire-based rider Sam Ward.

The 26-year-old is the youngest confirmed member of the new-look Kings and is set to make his debut at home to Eastbourne Eagles on Sunday.

Ward was a rising star at his local track in Stoke a decade ago but opportunities were hampered by early injury setbacks and the subsequent closure of the track.

“I got into speedway when first attending Stoke at the age of four and I immediately loved the sport,” he said.

“It was a thrill to wear the Potters race jacket and I also had some matches with Buxton Hitmen.

“I got into the National League side after coming second in a qualifying meeting at Stoke to grab one of the reserve slots, but in my first match I suffered a hand injury and smashed my coccyx (bone in his back) badly.”

With opportunities fading as both Stoke and Buxton closed as league circuits, Ward began to follow another long-held dream of following in his father’s tyre-prints and pursuing a career in motorcycle road racing.

But then he had to overcome a significant health scare.

He said: “Covid was a difficult time for us all, of course, but I ended up hospitalised after a very bad reaction to the first jab - the medics at first suspected I’d had a heart attack.

“That’s really frightening for someone in their early 20s, so when I got back on my bike I was determined to succeed, for myself and for my late dad who’d also raced road bikes.”

Wearing his late father’s No. 14 racing number, Ward competed in the East Midlands Racing Association’s 125GP championship, winning 14 out of 16 races and taking the 2021 championship with a round to spare.

He also competed in four rounds of the British Championship on his 250GP bike, scoring points at every event.

Ward then decided to return to his first love - speedway.

He said: “Even with my success it’s very hard with rising costs to stay competitive in road racing and besides, I feel that I’ve unfinished business with the speedway.

“What I most need to progress my speedway career is to settle into a friendly club, with good people; do well by them and they do well by me.

“I know I ride best when I’m happy and relaxed and after meeting the Kings management, my team-mates and fans, some of whom are generously sponsoring me, already it is a real boost.”