Former world speedway champion Mark Loram was taken to hospital with a broken arm after crashing at Arlington Stadium last night.

Loram, the No. 1 rider for Eastbourne Eagles, was hurt in a first-bend pile-up as the Sussex side were bundled out of the Elite League Knockout Cup by Poole Pirates.

The meeting was abandoned after 12 heats with Eagles leading 40-32 but behind 88-74 on aggregate after they were beaten 56-34 at Poole earlier in the day.

The injury is a devastating blow to Eastbourne's league title hopes and will mean Loram will miss lining up in the world championship Grand Prix series which begins in Poland next month.

Loram came down after being sandwiched between world champion Tony Rickardsson and another Grand Prix star, Leigh Adams, and was then struck by Eastbourne team-mate Gary Stead as he and his machine lay on the track.

There was a lengthy delay while Loram was attended by a paramedic and medical staff and then stretchered off the track.

Eastbourne boss Jon Cook told the fans: "The break is a bad one, and the paramedic wants to stay with Mark. Both teams agree there is no point in carrying on with the meeting."

A big Good Friday crowd had watched cup holders Eagles desperately try to claw their way back into the tie with Loram among their winners when he beat world junior champion Lukas Dryml.

But what started out as a bad Friday for the club at Poole turned into something even worse at Arlington.

Two races earlier, skipper Joe Screen had suffered concussion when he crashed into the safety fence as he battled for the lead with Rickardsson and Adams. Then came agony for Loram, who won the world title in 2000.

David Norris was involved in three maximum heat wins for the home side, twice partnered by Joonas Kylmakorpi and once by Adam Shields, as Eagles cut the arrears by eight points, but it was never going to be enough.

The damage was done at Poole, where Eastbourne were blown away, conceding seven 5-1 heat defeats, including five in the course of six races.

Norris, who scored ten points at Arlington, was also the top Eagle in the first match with nine points, but no one could stop Rickardsson and Adams, who dropped only one point between them in ten races.