Teenage speedway rider Sam Hurst, who lives at Colden Common, is really prepared to travel in pursuit of what he hopes will become a career.

Sam competes for the Newport Mavericks team some 115 miles away in Newport, Gwent - and he makes the two hour trip down the M4 to South Wales after completing his morning paper round!

The 15 year old schoolboy is rated as one of the best young prospects in the country and chose to ride for Newport in the Conference League last May because they offered good training facilities and were prepared to give him a chance at senior level.

He could have linked up with Weymouth Wildcats and saved a lot of travelling, but he and his father, Vince, were highly by the Welsh outfit.

Sam has been speedway riding for only fourteen months after competing in motocross events for several years. He finished well placed in the British Under 15 Championships during the summer.

He starts his daily paper round in Colden Common at around 7.30am each day and on Sundays his father or mother, Heather, whisk him away straight after to his favourite pursuit.

He has already made the even longer round trips for away matches at Edinburgh and Newcastle. The two fixtures were combined over a weekend, meaning that the family travelled more than 1,000 miles in three days!

"I love it and really want to make a career out of being a professional rider," he told me.

For full story, see this week's Hampshire Chronicle