Lakeside produced another dominant home display to see off previous league leaders Berwick 56-34 at The Arena-Essex Raceway.

Middle order man Kyle Newman was unbeaten by a visitor in his opening two rides, but was felled by Bandits’ reserve Dany Gappmaier in Heat Eight - hurting his AC joint in the fall.

The Hammers – who were already riding without Zach Wajtknecht who is in the Czech Republic representing Great Britain in the World Under-21 Semi-Finals - stepped up to the plate to secure a sixth straight win in all competitions.

Hammers team boss Will Pottinger said: “It was a fabulous win considering that we were without Zach and then lost Kyle Newman.

“It was a long night so we thank the fans for sticking with us throughout.”

The Hammers travel to Scunthorpe on Friday (June 22) before hosting the Scorpions the following night (7.45pm start).