A SPEEDWAY star has shown his support to a new campaign aimed at tackling bullying.

Gary Havelock, who is slowly recovering from a horrendous racing injury he suffered earlier this year, called into the Eston centre in Middlesbrough to help launch the anti-bullying scheme.

Pupils who attend the centre, which caters for teenagers who have been excluded from regular schools, helped to design the giant poster.

Assistant head of services at the unit in Eston, near Middlesbrough, Julie Scott said: “We take a very strong stance against bullying and we wanted to get the message across to pupils that we will not tolerate it.

“We thought the best way to do that was to get them involved in developing their own poster campaign. The quality was that good that we couldn’t choose an overall winner so we included the ideas of three of our pupils.”

The winning poster was designed by Samantha Thompson, April Findlayson (CORRECT) and Shaun Devlin.

Former World Speedway Champion, Mr Havelock, who is battling back to health after suffering severe nerve damage in his arm as well as a broken arm, broken ribs and sternum, became involved in the project when he was approached by Ron Gordon who works at the centre.

Mr Havelock said: “I became involved in the topic of bullying when my daughter was targeted in her first year in senior school, but it was quickly sorted out. "That’s why it’s important to deal with it straight away.”