A PRUDHOE motorcyclist has made a comeback after breaking his neck in a horror crash.

Motocross racer James Hutchinson (29) has scooped up a championship in the AcerbisNationals series MX1 class. The UK-wide event is made up of six different rounds of five races per round and James completed in the highest ranked class of the series, pipping over 40 other riders to the post.

The talented racer was enjoying his best season in 2016 at the British Maxxis MX1 Championship when he shattered a vertebra in his neck after being thrown of his KTM 450 bike in Belfast.

Going round a corner, his leg got caught under the bike, throwing him to the ground. The former Prudhoe High School pupil required surgery and spent five days in hospital in Northern Ireland.

The accident was the second of his racing career after he nearly lost his hand, breaking his wrist years before.

James, who had been riding professionally full-time before his accident in world championships, began riding again in 2019 after one of his sponsors, who he says he could not compete without, bought him a bike.

"We've had a good season. Everyone says 'why do you do it?' but it's all I've ever done since I was 8-years-old", said James, who was inspired to take up the sport by his older brother. "It's all I know.

"During the week, I'll be so nervous but then when I actually put my kit on and get back on my bike, I don't even think of it. It's my life.

"It's such a hard sport to make anything out of, you just do it for the sheer thrill. It's something you love and once you've got that bug, you can't get enough of it."

James, who now also coaches young people in motocross, is hopeful to make it back onto the professional scene.

He added: "There's a lot more people coming into the sport now. I was just this young lad who lived on a council estate in Prudhoe and used to ride his pit bike up and down the street. We were the first generation of our family in motocross and we made it to the Grand Prix of motocross.

"You're so free. All your worries are gone, you're not thinking about work, you're not stressed about money, it's just you and your bike. It's just a different world and it's amazing."

James, who practices at School House MX, Consett, and Ironworks MX, Middlesborough, is on course to race at an international event at Hawkstone Park in February. He is also entered at the Bridgestone British Masters series.