AS Northumberland's only motorcycle stunt rider, Whitley Chapel's Scott Philipson has to overcome many obstacles in his path.

The 27-year-old's frustrations are two-fold; finding somewhere to practise is incredibly difficult, while there's nobody around to train with.

Scott is the only rider from the county represented at the annual British Stunt Championships, but he is hoping the profile of the relatively new motorsport to the UK will be raised in order to get more people into it.

The carpet fitter has been competing in stunt riding for three years, and is developing year on year.

Stunt riding differs to other motorsports as it is described as acrobatics on a sports bike, judged on technique, tricks and handling, rather than speed.

It is an unusual sport as riders very rarely wear leathers, instead preferring loose clothing such as hoodies to ensure more mobility. They wear their body armour under their clothing in case of falls.

Scott said: "I want to get the interest out there and find somebody else who wants to do it, and I could help them out. A lot of people say they won't be able to do it, but I know people will be able to if they're willing to give it a try.

"People immediately think it's motocross when I mention it, but it's not like that at all. It's all about brake and clutch control, and doing acrobatics on the bike.

"If there's two of us, we could egg each other on or battle against each other but the closest riders to me are Durham or Kilmarnock, so that's a canny trek just to practise."

He added: "We are associated with tearing through town and messing about on the bikes, but we aren't doing that. It's a technical sport, but, because not many people do it, people haven't heard of it.

"So getting permission to practise somewhere locally is near impossible. I do have permission to use a car park in Hexham after they finish work, but it's quite small and I find I have to cut my stunts short in case I crash into a wall."

Scott has also been in his motorbikes, ever since he was given his first one aged just nine.

But his interest in stunt riding was started when he witnessed Mark Vandal-Van Driel, one of the world's top riders, in action at an event he attended with Hexham drift racer Anthony Scott.

Since then, he has been hooked and will again participate in the three rounds of the British Stunt Championship, to be held at Santa Pod Raceway, in Bedfordshire.

"When I saw Mark Vandal along with all the other riders, I was blown away but it wasn't until four years late that I got involved, and then went down to the British Championships and loved it.

"There's a lot of technical riding involved and there's more to think about, but it develops your skills and benefits your riding.

"I get such a buzz seeing people's faces of amazement when they see you doing things on the bike.

"The British Championship is full-on bikes and drag cars, and burning tyres off and having fun on your bike.

"It's great for all stunt riders to get together and meet up, and I learn more in those two days than I do in three months at home on my own!"

As Scott goes through a lot of tyres through the sport, he is kindly supported by Hexham-based Value Tread to enable him to compete.