In North Staffordshire the post-war craze for cycle speedway was inspired by the return of motorbike speedway at the old Sun Street Stadium at Shelton in 1947.

And although the sport has suffered periods of decline, it's survived for more than 60 years, with Stoke-on-Trent gaining a national reputation for producing top riders.

In a few cases cycle speedway also attracts people for life, as with the Burslem veteran Lance Bates, who had his first race in the 1960s and is still a regular competitor at 61.

However, it was a sport for youngsters in the late 1940s and so many got involved that there were enough teams in the area to form a Stoke-on-Trent cycle speedway league.

"Everybody I knew wanted to have a go," says George Whalley. "We rode on bikes without brakes or mudguards, consisting of two wheels, a frame, handlebars and one very low gear.

"I rode for Abbey Dragons after the team was formed in 1948. People liked to watch us. When we raced at Abbey Hulton carnival one year there was a crowd of about 500.

"It was a tough sport, with plenty of broken collarbones and dislocated shoulders. But the most common injury was gravel rash because we didn't have any protective clothing."

The earliest makeshift tracks appeared at Shelton in the vicinity of Sun Street Stadium, according to Howard Baggaley.

From around 1947 he rode for a team called Stoke Stars, originally based on land at Hall's Fields in the grounds of Shelton Steelworks at Etruria. Unusually, the team was managed by a woman, Mrs Alice Owen.

"We wore tunics with the same five-star emblem as Stoke Potters speedway team," he says. "We were so keen that we often rode round our track at night by the light of candles stuck in jam jars.

"I can say without fear of contradiction that around 1950 Stoke Stars were the undisputed champions. We topped the league three times and went a season and a half undefeated."

Other teams Howard remembers from that era include Penkhull Panthers, Newcastle Pirates, Sneyd Green Vikings, Etruria Jets, Baddeley Green Racers, Abbey Knights and Abbey Dragons. He recalls that a star rider in a team from Trent Vale was Roy Sproson, who later became a football legend with Port Vale.

In 1967 cycle speedway was given a big fillip with the opening of the area's first purpose-built track on land off Compton Street, Shelton, within a short distance of the site of Sun Street Stadium.

Ironically, due to a drop in interest in cycle speedway after the closure of Sun Street Stadium, Shelton Tigers were the only active team in the Potteries when the new track opened.

Alan Pennington, who rode for the Tigers in the opening match, recalls that in 1968 they enjoyed a day to remember when they beat a team from Southampton in the 'champion of champions' final at Swindon.

"We had about 11 regular riders and had teams in the Northern Premier League and the Midland League, which we topped twice.

"Sadly, Shelton Tigers folded in 1970 before we'd reached our peak. The disappearance of Sun Street Stadium might have had a bearing on our decline.

"However, we re-formed in 1971 as Stoke Potters and I continued riding until 1977 when I was 28."

One of Alan's teammates was Brian Massey, who recalls an earlier track at Shelton which some well-meaning person covered with cinders.

"Cinders were useless for cycle speedway," he says. "We removed the lot and replaced it with shale."

Brian remembers a sandy track at Bucknall which was "like riding on glass" and another one near Hanley Park in the shape of a triangle.

In the 1960s the Potteries individual champions included Paul Edwards, of Bradwell Bulldogs, and Mick Wheat, of Whiterock Eagles, a team based at Penkhull.

The name Whiterock returned to prominence in the 1980s when Stoke Potters changed to Stoke-on-Trent Whiterock Cycles, sponsored by veteran rider Lance Bates.

One of the club's outstanding performers from the 1980s has been Andy Franks, who has ridden for England at home and abroad and at 37 became the oldest winner of the British Grand Prix. In 1982 he was a member of the Whiterock team which won both the North of England League title and the knockout trophy, beating Manchester in a memorable final by 90 points to 84.

In recent times, the Stoke-on-Trent club has become recognised as the best team in the country, though they have currently lost their place in the British Premier League through lack of facilities at the 41-year-old track at Compton Street.

It's anticipated that the club will regain top status when a new track now being constructed in Etruria Park is completed later this year.