Fans could only watch in horror as the action was played out in front of them.
The Bandits and the Islanders had gone head to head in a meeting which would have seen the winners claim top spot in the Premier League.
Racing in the first six races was close and exciting, and with the scores at 17-19 it looked like everyone was in for a tense and nervous evening.
But little did anyone know of the shock scenes which were to follow.
For as the riders went into the first bend at the start of heat seven, two of them, Berwick's Scott Smith and the Isle of Wight's Paul Fry, locked handlebars and the pair of them flew at high speed into the wooden safety fence.
Three panels in the fence were completely demolished in the impact, but worse was to come when Fry, and Smith's bike, were catapulted over the 3ft outer retaining wall.
Fry was sent flying through the air and landed at the feet of spectators standing against the stadium's perimiter wall some 30ft away. With the help of his concerned team-mates he hobbled his way back to the pits where it was later discovered that he had broken two toes and also sustained knee ligament damage.
But as Smith's bike flipped over the wall it struck two unsuspecting young supporters as they walked past on a pathway.
Both were thrown to the ground. Track medical staff immediately rushed to their aid where it was discovered a 14 year-old girl had received a head injury whilst a 16 year-old boy sustained a suspected broken collarbone and shoulder injuries.
A third man, whose injuries have not been identified, received trackside treatment from paramedics and was taken to Berwick Infirmary for a check-up before being released.
Two of the injured, the boy and the girl, were taken by ambulance to Wansbeck Hospital, some 50 miles away in Ashington. They were then both transferred to North Tyneside General Hospital in Newcastle where they received further treatment.
The girl, who has not been identified, had a visible cut to the head and face, but her injuries were not thought to be life threatening.
The boy, second half rider Graham Sykes, was due to undergo an operation earlier this week and was thought likely to remain in hospital for a few days longer.
Police were also called to the scene and it was obvious from an early stage that due to the seriousness of the incident racing would be abandoned for the evening.
As fans waited patiently it came as no surprise when an announcement was made that following discussions between the police, medical staff,, track and team officials, referee Peter Clark had no option but to call a halt to procedings.
With only six heats having been raced the result will not stand and the meeting will have to be rescheduled for a later date.
Aware that this was no oridnary accident, supporters applauded the decision not to continue.
Ironically, this was Smith's first meeting back after re-signing for the Bandits in midweek.
He ended up in no-man's land between the safety fence and the wall and was fortunately able to walk away relatively unscathed.
But he was obviously shaken up by the incident, as was Berwick promnoter Peter Waite who said later:
"This was a most unfortunate incident. It was a complete racing accident, but of course all our thoughts at this time are with the injured and their families and we can only hope that they make a swift recovery"
Within hours of the incident dozens of 'get well' messages appeared on speedway forums on the internet. The general concensus appears to be that whilst it was a very nasty accident, no one appears to have been seriously hurt, although, of course, it could have been a lot worse.
Northumbria Police, who have appealed for witness to the incident to come forward, called in their accident investigation unit. They immediately taped off the area, took statements and photogrpahed the scene, but by then the safety fence had already been repaired by track staff.
A spokesman for the Isle of Wight team said it was a most unfortunate incident, and like everyone else their thoughts were with the injured.
The meeting was the first on a northern tour for the Islanders. Fry immediately returned home and Bandit Tero Aarnio was drafted in as his replacement for their meeting at Glasgow on Sunday afternoon.