Adam Ellis plans to “bang in a few maximums” and put Eastbourne in the thick of the National League title race.

The Elite League reserve has agreed to stand in for injured No.1 Kyle Hughes on a short-term deal.

It means a quick return to the league he helped Birmingham win – hotly pursued by Eagles – last season.

Ellis is off to a solid start in the top flight with Poole and will combine those duties with his Eagles meetings.

He initially turned down Connor Dugard as the Eastbourne director sought a replacement for Hughes, who suffered a fractured fibula and ankle at home to Kent on Good Friday.

But Dugard then drew a blank elsewhere - including with Stefan Nielsen,who had seemed set to sign – so a second request was made. Hughes is likely to miss two months of the season and the situation will be reviewed when he is available again.

Eagles have also signed former British youth champion Luke Harris to replace Richard Andrews, who has a broken scaphoid. Ben Hopwood was replaced by Ellis Perks recently.

Ellis is the National League track record holder at Arlington and excelled at the East Sussex circuit last season.

The 20-year-old told The Argus: “When Connor first asked me, everything seemed to be going quite well so I thought I’d just carry on as I was and pick up a few guest bookings and not do a full season in the National League.

“Then Connor came back and said they were struggling. He asked if I would help them out for a couple of months while Kyle was out. I’m looking forward to it. It’s a track I enjoyed last year which wasn’t the case when I went there in the Elite League. I found the right set-up there last year.

“It’s a short-term deal. At the end of that we will see how it goes.

“I want to bang in a few maximums at Eastbourne and get the other boys going.”

Dugard was delighted to end his search for a No.1.

He said: “Adam was the man to complete the puzzle. He was the rider I first enquired about.

“He was by far the best visitor last year and it’s great to have him join us.

“I must extend our thanks to Matt Ford at Poole and Jon Cook at Lakeside for letting us use Adam.”