AN adrenaline-junkie from York has won at the British motorcycling championships, three years after suffering a bleed on the brain after crashing into two other riders.

Paul Cooper, 39, a self-employed joiner of Fulford, who has been motorbike racing since he was 11, was told by a GP that he would never be able to ride again after breaking his neck for the second time in Germany in 2018.

However, he was determined to continue with the sport, and was crowned the 2021 British 350cc Champion at Ledbury Motorcycle Club on Saturday, September 25.

Paul said: “I don’t remember the accident itself; I woke up in hospital and my German girlfriend, Anja Hahn, had to translate.

“I wasn’t too scared about the neck-break, I’ve broken my neck before nine years ago, but it was nerve-wracking to hear about the bleed on the brain.

“I was told they had to let it bleed and clot itself, so I laid in hospital with a neck brace for a week.”

Back in the UK, a GP told Paul that it would never be safe for him to ride again, so he sought advice from a private doctor.

After the brain scans revealed that the damage had been healed, the doctor said Paul could race again.

“I was determined to at least ride again, but I now had the green light to race again.”

Paul went onto have a successful year of racing in 2019, winning five races in Germany and the UK, and coming second in three in Germany and the Netherlands.

“It was a real buzz, an absolute relief to get back on it, like a renewed, second love for it again.

“Racing is dangerous – we race an average of 95 miles per hour– I wear the best helmet you can get out there, and body armour.

“My injury has taught me to persevere with what you love – if you’re determined and have the will to do it, then anything is doable.”