Danyon Hume has been forced to put his career on hold but has vowed to be back racing in 2026.
The ever-smiling 29-year-old from Buckinghamshire fractured two vertebrae after a heart-stopping crash at Berwick last July.
Hume was skippering the Bandits when he was sent cartwheeling down Shielfield Park’s home straight after colliding with the machine of Edinburgh’s Jonatan Grahn.
Surgeons in Newcastle inserted two metal rods and four screws to stabilise his back but a delay in removing the metalwork means Hume can only look on from the sidelines as the new season begins.
“Initially they planned to remove the rods in December. That gave me January to recover and two months to get some practice in before the season started,” Danyon told Greg Blair on Berwick Speedway’s Total Access podcast.
“But the operation keeps getting pushed back – which I totally understand as the NHS is busy – but it will happen and I will be back racing in 2026.
“I have been told in no uncertain terms not to get on a speedway bike until the rods are removed.
“If I crashed again it would be game over. I know how close I came to being paralysed and certainly would never risk it – no matter how frustrating that is.”
Hume, who has also ridden for Redcar, Glasgow, Ipswich and Sheffield, has no qualms about resuming his racing career despite the severity of the crash and the long road to recovery which followed.
“Anything can happen at any point, you just accept that as a rider,” he said.
“It was a freak, just being in the wrong place at the wrong time. All four of us were in contention on the last corner, Jonatan was hanging off the back of his bike and I knew he wasn’t going to make it and cut to the inside off the last bend.
“Suddenly I had a choice of either hitting Jonatan or his bike. You have less than a second to react.
“I knew straight away it was bad but hats off to the Berwick medical staff and management for making sure that I was treated properly.”
The derby clash was abandoned as Hume underwent lengthy examination on-track before being taken by ambulance the 56-mile journey to Berwick’s nearest A&E department at Cramlington.
He was subsequently transferred to Newcastle’s RVI hospital and underwent surgery on his back. And it is to Newcastle Hume will return to have the rods removed.
“The surgeon did a fantastic job not only with the operation but in advising me on rehabilitation and recovery,” Danyon explained.
“I want him to complete the job, which will also let me visit Berwick.
“Jamie Courtney and Stewart Dickson have put together a fantastic team. It is very solid but most of the riders can put points on their average.
“I’m gutted not to be a part of it but I’ll still be rooting for them. The Bandits are very much my team now.”
Berwick stages its Press and Practice night on Friday, March 27 with riders on-track from 6.15pm and then moving to the Black and Gold for Greg Blair’s Meet the 2026 Bandits launch night which is expected to start around 8.30pm. Entry to both events is by donation.
Berwick open their season with a trip to Edinburgh in the BSN Series on April 3 with the sides meeting again in the Shielfield Park opener the following evening.
Words by Berwick Speedway – Images Taylor Lanning (profile)/Taz McDougall (action)