A NORTH-EAST member of the Army's motorcyle display team has vowed to return to action despite cheating death by inches at the weekend.

Lance Corporal Malcolm Hildreth, from Darlington, was performing with the White Helmets team when a stunt went wrong and he was run over by a bike with nine soldiers on it.

L Cpl Hildreth is one of the team's most athletic members, and was the frontman in a tableau display when the accident happened at the Royal Signals Association reunion, at Blandford, in Dorset, on Saturday.

L Cpl Hildreth lost his grip as he hung upside down over the front mudguard and he slipped under the bike laden with the rest of the display team.

The bike and its load weighed about a ton and a half, but he suffered only bruising.

L Cpl Hildreth said: "I was praying I wouldn't fall off, because my feet were slipping and I could tell the ground was getting nearer and nearer.

"Then, when I tried to unhook my feet, I fell straight under the front wheel. I was pretty lucky though; the bike ran across my abdomen, but the back wheel missed me.

"If it had run over my chest it could have been a lot worse."

After a short stay in hospital doctors have told L Cpl Hildreth to rest for a fortnight, but he plans to rejoin the team in a week.

L Cpl Hildreth, 30, joined the Army as a signaller in 1987 but his sense of adventure drove him to join the team - which performs around the world - in 1999.

He and his colleagues perform at events around the country on Triumph Tiger display bikes, built in the 1960s.

They regularly travel at speeds of up to 60mph carrying out stunts such as flying angels, six-man fans and double Jimmys, named after the company badge featuring Mercury.

A spokeswoman for the White Helmets said: "Anyone else would be out for the season, but not him. He's a real acrobat and one of our most talented riders."

Traditionally, a black helmet peak is awarded to riders who make a mistake during a public performance. However, L Cpl Hildreth is hoping that, by the time he gets back on his bike, someone else will have taken the title