Former British Champion and multiple International road race winner Steve Plater is facing a spell of recuperation after a nasty off-road crash on Monday left him with a fractured C1 vertebrae in his neck.

The crash happened in the Welsh mountains when the Lincolnshire ace fell from his enduro bike and was hit from behind, the front wheel of the following bike hitting him directly at the back of the head with his neck taking the full force of the impact.

Fortunately, his Arai helmet did a superb job in protecting his head but when he was assessed at Aberystwyth Hospital later that day, the fracture was diagnosed.

The assessment thankfully confirmed no further damage, with the C6 vertebrae that Plater damaged in a crash at the 2010 North West 200 completely unscathed but, after being released from hospital on Thursday, he travelled to Manchester for further checks and opinion.

Plater would like to express his thanks to Arai Europe, Acerbis UK for their excellent protection and all of the staff at Aberystwyth Hospital.