NEWPORT escaped what had all the makings of an inevitable defeat at Exeter last night because of a floodlight failure.

The Wasps were trailing by ten points after only three heats of the Premier League match at the County Ground when referee Frank Ebdon called a halt to proceedings.

It was the second successive week that Exeter were forced to abandon a meeting because of a problem with the lights.

Three heats were raced under the failing natural light before it was considered too dangerous to continue.

The stadium electrician was called in but could not repair the fault despite an hour's delay before the decision was made to abandon the meeting.

Exeter will now face a problem finding a date to re-arrange the fixture.

Re-admission tickets were issued, but it still proved an expensive disappointment for the Newport fans who travelled across the Severn Bridge and down the M5.

Newport team manager Neil Street said: "It is not good for the spectators. "They had to pay out to cross the bridge and then had the cost of petrol going to Exeter."

Street sympathised with the Exeter promotion, who rent the stadium from Exeter Rugby Football Club. The three races that took place saw Glenn Cunningham the only Newport rider to score at the expense of the opposition when he came second behind Mark Simmonds in heat three.

Chris Neath held third place until the final bend when he was overtaken by Jason Prynne, who stormed around the outside.

The two previous races had produced 5-1 heats wins for Exeter against the Wasps, who operated rider replacement for injured heat leader Anders Henriksson.