Howarth vows to bounce back

Ashton United coach Dave Haworth has offered to hand back any sponsorship donations after ill health forced him to withdraw from running in last Sunday's Manchester BUPA 10K in aid of The Christie and Bolton Hospice.

The Evo-Stik Northern Premier League club's coach, pictured, was due to set off on the charity run for the third time on May 26 after cancer took the lives of his son, sister-in-law and aunt in recent years. Laid low with a serious chest infection in the weeks before the run, Howarth was advised by doctors to pull out but is vowing to keep on running for good causes and be part of the event again next year.

A popular figure at the Premier Division club, he said: "Health permitting, I fully intend to participate in the BUPA 10K Manchester race in 2014 and possibly another race prior to that. I am very grateful to everyone at the club that has sponsored me and I fully intend to do a run for my chosen charities.

"If anyone that has sponsored me would prefer me to return their sponsorship money, I will certainly do so. I am very keen to get back into training as soon as I can and to continue to raise money for the charities."