SWINDON Robins have signed youngster Rob Branford on a short-term deal as a replacement for injured reserve Lewis Rose.

The Australian-born 21-year-old rode for the Robins twice last week, featuring in their back-to-back Elite League wins over Lakeside Hammers.

Branford, the 2013 British Under 21 champion, scored an encouraging six points at the Abbey Stadium last Thursday and followed that up with a hard-fought paid four at the Arena-Essex Raceway 24 hours later.

Rose is currently out with a wrist injury sustained in a fall in the defeat at home to champions Poole Pirates back on July 13 and has so far missed four Elite League fixtures.

Rossiter said: “I’ve known Robert for a while, he’s good friends with Nick (Morris), and I like his attitude a lot.

“I looked at him at the start of the year before the draft, and he certainly endeared himself to everyone with that heat 12 win against Lakeside last week when there was a lot of pressure on him.

“He has a lot of potential, so hopefully he can come in and do a good job for us and continue to improve with the more rides he gets.

“We are still unsure how long Lewis will be out, a scaphoid is one of those funny injuries where you can’t tell how long it will take to heal.

“We need to be sure he’s fully fit before he comes back in, and in the time being we hope Robert can do a solid job for us.”