VETERAN motocross rider Michael Curtis will be seeing in the New Year by riding as many laps as possible around a Fenland dirt track. Mr Curtis, 58, from Walpole Cross Keys, will be riding for six hours around the Eastrax circuit, at nearby Walpole St And

VETERAN motocross rider Michael Curtis will be seeing in the New Year by riding as many laps as possible around a Fenland dirt track.

Mr Curtis, 58, from Walpole Cross Keys, will be riding for six hours around the Eastrax circuit, at nearby Walpole St Andrew.

He will be on board a 1967 BSA Metisse 500cc motorcycle and will be watched by the King's Lynn section of the Vintage Motorcycle Club, of which he is a member.

Mr Curtis said: "I have got two bikes and what we plan to do is fire one up every 35 minutes and, when the second is low on fuel, swap bikes."

Proceeds from the ride will be going towards two charities, Macmillan Cancer Support and Samaritans emotional support charity.

Mr Curtis said: "This will help generate extra funds for the two worthy charities I am trying to help.

"I have already raised £864 and Vintage Motorcycle Club members are going to have a table and a bucket for people to donate some more money."

A former student of the Queen's School, Wisbech, Mr Curtis has been riding motorcycles for the past 38 years.

He competes in motocross championships around Europe, covering between 6,000 and 8,000 miles each year. His CV includes winning the Normandy Motocross Championships in 2000.

Mr Curtis also runs two companies under the name M E Curtis, one a plant hire and haulage company, and the other a historic building restoration company. Both are based in Walpole Cross Keys.

- Mr Curtis will be riding on New Year's Day between 10am-4pm. To sponsor, write a cheque payable to Michael Curtis and send to 23 Station Road North, Walpole Cross Keys, King's Lynn, Norfolk, PE34 4MB. Alternatively, cheques can be dropped into the Wisbech Standard office, in Wisbech Market Place.