Speedway star Lewis Kerr on returning to the track after terrible smash

A speedway star has told how he got back on a bike just months after a horror crash that nearly killed him – because he couldn’t remember a thing about it.

Lewis Kerr was 25 and about to become a dad when he careered into a safety barrier after colliding with another competitor during a race.

He was airlifted to hospital and wife Jessie, who was pregnant with son Cooper at the time, held a bedside vigil for the stricken rider as he spent four days in a coma, fighting for his life.

After waking up, Lewis had to learn to walk and read again and suffered severe headaches.

But he was back on the brakeless motorcycle to race around tracks at speeds of more than 60mph just months later.

Lewis’ memory of the 2015 crash is totally blank – and he says it’s just as well.

Remarkably, it was Jessie who encouraged him to get back into the sport.

Now he’s heading north of the border after joining league title-chasing Glasgow Tigers.

Speaking from his home in King’s Lynn, Norfolk, Lewis revealed how his life was turned upside down by the crash. “It was awful. At the time my wife was 25 weeks pregnant,” he said. “Plus, I was buying a house, and that sort of fell through because of the accident.

“So we had the house situation, she was pregnant, and I was in a coma.

“I had to pretty much learn to walk again, I couldn’t read, I couldn’t do a lot of things.”

However, Lewis insisted there were “never any doubts” about getting back on a bike, despite the dangers of the sport – which sees four riders compete over four laps on an oval track, on single-gear machines which broadside round the corners – and the fact he now had a family to look after.

He said: “It does help that I can’t remember anything about the crash.

“I didn’t want to do anything else other than ride my bike for a living. If I was unable to do that I would be pretty depressed.

“But being quite fit, my recovery picked up quickly, so I’m really lucky.

“Because of the funding that people set up for me, I was quite lucky, because I didn’t have to work as a carpenter through the winter – I managed to recover properly and spend time with Cooper as well.

“After a terrible year it was a good ending.

“Jessie absolutely loves the speedway and knew I was never going to quit. And I don’t think she’d let me, because I’d be miserable if I was off a bike and she wouldn’t want that. She’s a great support. “People think I’m crazy and don’t understand – but I just wouldn’t want to do anything else.

“Once the headaches had stopped coming I knew it was time to get back.

“It’s taken a lot of hard work and determination but I’m really happy with how things are going.”

Lewis has always adored bikes – he used to join his dad on road machines as a youngster before collecting enough cash to get his own two wheels when he was 11.

He started racing motocross aged 13 before moving into professional speedway when he was 21.

The quality of his performances last year for clubs down south encouraged the Tigers to snap him up for their new campaign, which begins on March 23.

Lewis said: “I’m really excited. Their support will mean a lot to me at this stage of my career.”