THE famous Cradley Heathens name will live on - as a junior team in a brand new league.

Every Premiership club will compete in one home and one away junior league meeting and Wolverhampton have passed over the name of their second-string to the Heathens.

And Wolverhampton chief Chris Van Straaten, the man behind the move, has already confirmed popular 2019 rider Tom Spencer will captain the side.

He said: “Nigel Pearson, Gary Patchett and myself spent 10 years proudly running the team in the National League but it ended on a sad note as we failed to find a suitable piece of land for a new track.

“This was the biggest regret we had and the Premiership Junior League provides an ideal opportunity to keep the Heathens name alive.

“By doing this it keeps the Heathens in the public eye, they just don’t disappear, and by doing this hopefully it can help somebody else secure a suitable site for a new track for them which is what we all want to see.

“I think the whole idea of the Premiership Junior League is tremendous. Wayne Carter came through a similar system years ago for Wolverhampton as the most notable name.

“Former Heathen Tom Spencer will captain the side and lead from the front with the aim of giving riders an opportunity to develop without any pressure being put on them.

“It will also be useful for the young lads to look, learn and listen to the professional riders in the pits.

“The Heathens Speedway Supporters Trust have kindly helped us out by purchasing our race jackets.

“We’re excited about the prospect of keeping the Heathens name alive in a small capacity for someone hopefully to take over.”