The melee broke out after Heat 11, in which home rider Jan Graversen edged out opponent Carl Wilkinson on the first bend, effectively ending the Lincolnshire man's chance in the race.

As the riders returned to the pits, Wilkinson and his mechanics vented their anger at their Mildenhall rivals and security staff and match referee Barbara Horley had to step in to stop a 15-man brawl.

Wilkinson was given a sharp warning by Horley over his conduct and language before the meeting continued with Mildenhall putting in a spirited fightback despite going down 40-53 for their 10th straight league defeat.

The Tigers, without injured Jari Makinen and Robbie Kessler, had seen the Scorpions make a flying start to take the first two heats before maximums in heats three and four saw the visitors quickly establish a 10-point lead.

With the Tigers trailing by 14 points, team boss Laurence Rogers gambled on putting Michal Rajkowski out in the double point-scoring black and white helmet in heat eight.

The move paid off as the Pole was first out of the gate and was never headed as he took the maximum six points to haul the Tigers back into the contest.

Guest rider Tomas Suchanek carried on the good form in heat nine before he and Rajkowski teamed up for a 5-1 in heat ten.

A hard ride by Jan Graversen in the next heat saw him sweep aside Carl Wilkinson before the Scunthorpe rider showed his fury in the pits.

With calm restored and the Tigers trailing by five points, one 5-1 was needed for them to have a chance of their first victory, but an exclusion in heat 13 for Graversen coupled with Rajkowski's failure to make the gate gave the visitors the chance to tie up the meeting.

Rogers again shuffled his pack to send Graversen out as a tactical substitute, starting 15 metres back in a double-scoring helmet. For all of his efforts, he could not make any inroads on the field which was led home by Suchanek.

A 5-1 in the finale to the visitors rounded off proceedings and gave them a hard-fought victory over a rejuvenated Tigers side.

Mildenhall promoter Simon Barton, who has appealed for a co-promoter to share his workload and financial commitment, said: "This was a much better performance with extra fight and a lot more team spirit.

"Bringing in Tomas Suchanek was a masterstroke by Laurence (Rogers) and I was delighted to see Michal Rajkowski ride so well," he added.

Sunday's scores: – Mildenhall Fen Tigers: Rajkowski 14, Laukkanen 4, Suchanek 11, Graversen 8, Loof 2, Baseby 1.

Scunthorpe Scorpions: Hall 6, Wilkinson 9, Karlsson 10, Bergstrom 7, Sanchez 10, Powell 3, Bekker 8.