A COUNTY Durham BMX club has been chosen to host a major regional race day for the first time.

The Hub Club, based at Barnard Castle, will welcome more than 200 riders from Scotland, North-West England and as far south as the Midlands for a full day's competition next month.

The event is one of a series organised by The North Region BMX which culminate in the British championships in Birmingham at the end of August.

The Barnard Castle BMX track was purpose built as part of The Hub complex on the town's Shaw Bank.

The Hub Club's Tom Whipham said he was delighted such a high profile event would be staged in Teesdale.

“We have only been going as a club for two years and this is our first big event,” he said.

“We have a regional standard 400m track with four straights featuring leaps and jumps.”

Mr Whipham added: “Spectators who come along to the event can expect a lot of action.

“It can be a high risk sport – you get a lot of crashes and a lot of close contact, but it can be really exciting, especially when it gets to the final. Nobody wants to finish second.”

The Barnard Castle race day takes place on Sunday, May 5. Practice starts at 9am with the first race due off shortly after midday.