Medics demand to cover speedway

Members of a first aid charity are demanding the right to work at a Northumberland speedway event which is under threat due to a medic shortage.

St John Ambulance has withdrawn support from Berwick's popular speedway ahead of the start of the season on 5 March.

But a group of St John medics based in Berwick say they are more than happy to cover the event.

A spokesman from the charity's county office in Newcastle said the decision was based on a risk assessment.

We are fed up with being blamed and we want to know what is going on Berwick St John medics

In a letter sent to the St John Ambulance county headquarters in Newcastle, the medics said: "The public have placed the blame for the county's decision on our doorstep.

"As a consequence we feel most aggrieved, as we have not been consulted at any stage of the decision making.

"The Berwick Speedway duty is one of the main sources of income for the Berwick division, and also the one duty that the members look forward to covering.

"We are fed up with being blamed and we want to know what is going on. All the information that we have been given is second-hand, and we want to know where we stand."

David Nicklen, the county executive officer for St John Ambulance in Northumbria, said: "The details of the risk assessment for the Berwick Speedway duty have already been shared with the Berwick members, but a senior volunteer of St John Northumbria will now re-visit Berwick and talk through the issues again with the members there."

According to Berwick Bandits promoter Peter Waite, the event cannot go ahead unless it is covered by at least three first aiders.