Lee Richardson prepared for a fairytale debut as Eastbourne Eagles skipper and revealed: "I nearly retired when I was ten."

The Great Britain regular leads Eagles out for their first meeting of the season tomorrow, at home to Swindon in the Craven Shield (7.30pm), having signed for his local club during the winter.

Richardson learnt the sport on the Arlington junior track when he was at primary school but only now, at the age of 28, has he signed for Eagles' senior team.

The script could not be better. The Hastings-based rider will be leading the team where his father Colin was a hero and be facing the Swindon club for whom he has ridden for the last three years.

Richardson is still registered with the Wiltshire track, who were forced to loan him out after opting to use a big chunk of their average points on Leigh Adams.

Team GB captain Scott Nicholls will also be making his Eagles debut, as will young reserve James Brundle, while Edward Kennett returns to his home track after a season on loan with Poole.

Behind the fairytale homecoming, however, lie tales of some testing times in the Richardson household.

Injury put paid to Colin Richardson's racing career and his son almost had to follow him into retirement.

Lee Richardson said: "I vividly remember watching my dad a lot. I was transfixed by speedway. But he retired after injury and never got back on a speedway bike ever again.

"For that reason, I finished racing when I was ten years old. Retired if you like "He couldn't deal with the fact speedway had been taken away from him.

"We moved away from Hastings to Bracknell, where my dad's family come from. He went into the building trade and I got into football.

"We didn't go to speedway at all for a few years. My dad wanted nothing to do with it, even though Reading was ten minutes down the road.

"Then one Monday, and I don't really know why, he asked if I wanted to go and watch.

"I wasn't really into it by that stage. I was into my football.

"But I said yeah, ok' and that was it. I went over and I wanted to have a go on the Reading training track."

Richardson, by now aged about 15, had a go on one of his dad's old Weslake bikes and was bitten by the bug again.

Even then, his fledgling career almost stalled.

He said: "Dad helped me out a lot. My mum and dad were never really wealthy people but he helped me find a bit of sponsorship.

"I was lucky I lived at home because otherwise there was no way I could afford to do it. We fell out a lot, to be honest. He didn't want me to race speedway at all.

"I was earning no money. I think I scored 40 points all season when I was 16. I crashed all the time.

"I always remember we were at the dinner table and my mum was at one end and my dad was the other.

"We were talking though my mum and she was crying because she'd had enough and my dad said right I'm not helping you any more'.

"He was funding my diesel for the van and I couldn't drive.

"He wouldn't drive me anywhere and it got to about three weeks without us talking at all living in the same house.

"I had run out of money and I couldn't get to any meetings so I had to speak to him again.

"I asked him for some diesel money.

"He was all right and we started again but we argued like cat and dog for a couple of years.

"Then in 1997 I was riding for Poole and he was mates with (former rider) John Davis.

"John was watching and my dad said do you fancy helping my son because he won't listen to me?' "Over the next four years, with John and my dad helping, my career shot up.

"From being a nobody I was world under-21 champion and racing in the Elite League."

Richardson has been a top-flight regular since then, though his better performances have come on the bigger tracks of the Polish and Swedish Leagues.

He reckons a switch from the expanses of Swindon to tight, technical 275-metre Arlington can help him up his scores in this country.

In return his away track knowledge, allied to that of Nicholls, can be key in helping Eagles to the play-offs, which looks a very realistic target.

Eastbourne are going back to old-fashioned values in their bid for a revival.

Kennett is the son of Dave and nephew of Gordon, both of whom were top Eagles riders, while Bob and Martin Dugard are helping new promoter Martin Hagon run the senior team and invigorate the famed junior track the skipper once rode.

These days Josh Richardson, Lee's five-year-old son, goes out there with the tiny young riders.

Colin is away in Kuwait but not forgotten by Arlington fans of an older vintage.

Lee Richardson said: "It has been a long time but I'm so pleased to be back.

"My dad was a big influence but he also took a step back to help me and I was lucky he did that.

"Whatever speedway is, he's still my dad and I didn't want to fall out with him."

To listen to Richardson's thoughts, click here from 8am tomorrow (Friday).

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