Former Poole Pirates speedway team promoter Pete Ansell has died aged 75.

It all started for Ansell in 1982 at Radipole Lane in Weymouth where, as a speedway rookie, he was cutting his teeth on the commercial scene. In an interview with Daily Echo in 2004, Ansell described how Phil Lock was the promoter at the time and Simon Wigg was the star rider.

He said that Lock had become 'disenchanted' with the speedway scene and it was then that he was approached by Mervyn Stewkesbury, who he teamed up with after the Radipole Road site was 'heartbreakingly' sold for Asda to build a new supermarket.

At the end of 1984, the promoter, Reg Frearman, placed the business into liquidation and Ansell and Stewkesbury bought some of the existing Poole assets such as Stan Bear and Kevin Smith together with some Weymouth riders and created the Poole Wildcats. They were criticised by fans at the time for turning their backs on Weymouth, but Ansell said in the Daily Echo interview that it couldn't have been further from the truth as they wanted to keep the sport for the fans in Dorset.

The men travelled to Australia and beat London club, Wimbledon, to sign up 16-year-old Leigh Adams and with the a few more Oz additions, the Pirates won the National League.

In 1998, Ansell stepped aside to allow Matt Ford and Mike Golding to take over management, with Ansell taking on an advisory role, helping to instigate the sign up of Mark Loram, after talking with him and his manager, Norrie Allen.

Ansell called time on his 22-year involvement with the Poole Pirates in November 2004 so that he could spend more time with his wife, Roz, and their family including his sons, Mark and Simon.

Pete Ansell died on Sunday, November 22, following a long term illness.