Mildenhall speedway star Danny Ayres' promise to Newmarket partner is fulfilled through generosity of fans

A promise made by speedway star, Danny Ayres, to his partner has been fulfilled just over a year after his tragic death.

The hugely popular Mildenhall rider, who took his own life in February 2020, after a long battle with mental health issues, always told Jodie Pledge that when he made the speedway big time he would buy her a beauty salon.

Danny just missed the big time but, after he died, loyal fans set up an on-line site to raise money for Jodie and their two children, five-year-old Lilou and Anaiya, who is nearly three, which raised close to £14,000.

Jodie has now used that money to set up the business Danny always promised her.

“For Danny it was always ‘when’ not ‘if’ he made it. That was his dream and I gave up everything to help make it happen,” said Jodie. “Now, in a bitter sweet way, his legacy to me is the clinic which was my dream.

“I just wanted to let everyone who was kind enough to donate money to us know what I have done with it. I hope it will prove to be a good investment in my future and the future of Danny’s girls which is what he would have wanted.”

The Lovellia Beauty Clinic, on the Lanwades Business Park near Kentford, opened in April and can be contacted on 01638 505729 or at www.lovellia.co.uk

“It was two offices and I had to fit it out from the ground up,” said Jodie, 40, who moved back to live in Newmarket after Danny died. “I lived in the town for most of my life and it’s where my friends are,” she said.

One of those friends from her time in racing nearly 20 years ago is Laura Pike who now works with her in the salon having qualified as a beauty technician. Also on the staff is therapist Chloe Planas.

Jodie’s own speciality is permanent make-up including tattooed eyebrows, eye liner and lips, which she learnt on a course paid for by Danny when he inherited some money from his mother.

“The time after his death was a whirlwind but then the grief hit me so hard,” said Jody. “I still have the occasional wobble but the girls and I are settled and surrounded by so many happy memories of Danny.”

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