Dean Barker has no plans to quit speedway, even though the sport has done its best to finish him off.

Now 32, Barker nearly died after one crash at Hackney when he suffered a punctured lung, three broken ribs and a broken leg in an horrific pile-up and spent several days in intensive care.

A catalogue of other injuries, including another broken leg, broken arm, broken wrist, cruciate ligament damage and severing the radial nerve when his arm was trapped in the back wheel of his machine, have threatened to end his career.

It has earned Barker the tag of "bionic man" because of the assortment of screws and assorted metal work which have been used at various times to put things back where they should be.

Said Eastbourne boss Jon Cook: "It's fair to say Dean has been through more than anyone in Eastbourne's cause. He has suffered some terrible injuries, but he has always bounced back."

Barker himself admits there were times when he didn't think he would get this far but he insists: "I've never thought about throwing in the towel. Speedway is in my blood and I intend to go on riding for as long as I can."

He says the injuries are part and parcel of being involved in one of the world's most dangerous sports. "I think I've been unlucky. I'm just one of those riders who seems to be in the wrong place and the wrong time."

Barker's career has been put on hold at least three times by serious injury, otherwise he believes he would have been a Grand Prix rider. "I was at my peak when I broke my leg in 1995. Then the Grand Prix took off, and I was left behind."

Barker has switched to a JAWA machine for the new season. "I've ridden GM engines all my life but I changed to JAWA last year in Sweden and it went well, so now I have changed all my bikes over."

The Eagles star, who has twice had his world championship dreams shattered by injuries before vital meetings, plans to have another crack at the big time this year, starting in Belgium.