Nicki Pedersen admits he is too busy to answer an SOS call from Eastbourne Eagles.

But the Arlington outfit have confirmed they approached Pedersen and world champion Jason Crump to offer their side a mid-season shot in the arm.

Neither man has a British track this season.

Eagles team manager Trevor Geer said: “We are trying everything but Nicki could only have done about half our fixtures and we've spoken to Jason Crump as well.”

Pedersen, a massive hit at Arlington before leaving at the end of 2007, refused to talk about individual clubs.

But he said: “There have been clubs interested and I’ve told them I’m not doing British speedway.

“The Elite League schedule is not ideal.”