A YOUNG speedway star is fighting for his life in Australia after a midrace crash left him with horrific chest and back injuries.

Joe Haines, the British Under-21 champion, has suffered a broken shoulder, broken ribs, a p u n c t u r e d lung, and possibly some c r a c k e d vertebrae.

The former S m i t h i l l s School pupil is in an induced coma at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide.

Mr Haines’ worried parents, Linda and Steve, from Smithills, have flown out to Australian to keep a vigil at his bedside.

The accident took place at a race meeting in Gillman, near Adelaide, on Saturday.

His grandmother, Joan Morris, said the family were now anxiously waiting for news of the 19- year-old’s condition.

She said: “We are all really worried because he is fighting for his life.

“You always pray that something like this won't happen but he is in a very bad way.

“Linda and Steve went out on the first flight they could get and we are now just waiting for them to get there to see how he is.

“His season had finished here so he went to Australia with some team mates and was just racing to get some winter practice in.”

According to local sources, the crash happened on the third turn of the circuit with Mr Haines sliding backwards, at speed, into a rubber wall.

The race meeting was halted for more than halfan- hour while Mr Haines was treated at the track and then transferred by ambulance to the Queen E l i z a b e t h Hospital.

Mr Haines, who recently transferred to the Wolverhampton Wolves speedway team, is seen as one of the rising stars of the sport in the UK.

He looked set to be a major player in the World Under-21 Championships in 2009 but he suffered a broken hand in a qualifying heat.

Following the injury, Mr Haines said: “It’s part of the sport and you have to accept it or pack in.”

He started his speedway career in 2006 with the Cleveland Bears and then joined the Scunthorpe Scorpions in 2007 in the Conference League, winning the League Championship, the Knockout Cup and the Conference Trophy in his first full season.

Wolverhampton Wolves signed Mr Haines just after his 16th birthday and immediately loaned him to the Workington Comets for the 2008 season.

This year he has been riding for Kings Lynn in the Premier League while doubling up with parent club, Wolverhampton, in the Elite League.

Mr Haines became the 2010 British Under 21 Champion in April.

A spokesman for Wolverhampton Wolves said: “Everyone connected with Wolverhampton Speedway sends their best wishes to Joe and his family at this time.”